Short Interest in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) Expands By 11.4%

Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,480,000 shares, a growth of 11.4% from the August 15th total of 4,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 679,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.6 days. Approximately 6.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Avangrid Trading Up 0.1 %

Avangrid stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $34.67. The stock had a trading volume of 245,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,434. Avangrid has a twelve month low of $33.37 and a twelve month high of $50.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.89.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.29). Avangrid had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 2.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Avangrid’s revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Avangrid will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Avangrid Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AGR. StockNews.com downgraded Avangrid from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 28th. TheStreet downgraded Avangrid from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Avangrid from $39.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. KeyCorp upgraded Avangrid from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Avangrid from $34.00 to $35.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avangrid by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,669,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $319,831,000 after acquiring an additional 72,761 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avangrid by 5.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,436,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,514,000 after acquiring an additional 361,132 shares in the last quarter. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Avangrid by 103.1% in the first quarter. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. now owns 4,533,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,782 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Avangrid by 1.2% in the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,782,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,510,000 after acquiring an additional 44,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Avangrid by 11.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,266,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,403,000 after acquiring an additional 231,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.93% 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 in two segments: Networks and Renewables. It is involved in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity; and distribution, transportation, and sale of natural gas.