Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) in a report released on Tuesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Avangrid Price Performance

Avangrid stock opened at $36.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Avangrid has a twelve month low of $29.71 and a twelve month high of $37.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.68.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.22. Avangrid had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avangrid will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avangrid Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avangrid

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Avangrid by 26.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 256,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,130,000 after purchasing an additional 54,469 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Avangrid by 743,566.7% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 22,307 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avangrid by 2.6% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 16,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avangrid by 5.7% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 47,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Avangrid by 2.8% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.