Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,709,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,616 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 1.99% of Avangrid worth $249,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Avangrid during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,027,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Avangrid in the fourth quarter worth $4,195,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Avangrid by 2,285.5% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 96,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 92,698 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Avangrid by 179.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 157,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,120,000 after buying an additional 101,543 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avangrid during the 4th quarter valued at $1,583,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Avangrid Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AGR opened at $35.53 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.23. Avangrid, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.46 and a 52-week high of $39.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.55.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.54 billion. Avangrid had a return on equity of 4.35% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avangrid, Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avangrid Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AGR. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Avangrid in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “sell” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Avangrid in a research note on Friday, March 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.67.

Avangrid Company Profile

Avangrid, Inc, an energy services holding company, engages in the regulated energy transmission and distribution, and renewable energy generation businesses in the United States. The company operates through Networks and Renewables segments. It is involved in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity; and distribution, transportation, and sale of natural gas.