Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys New Position in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 129,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,195,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Avangrid by 179.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 157,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,120,000 after purchasing an additional 101,543 shares during the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Avangrid by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 81,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,447,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in Avangrid by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 411,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,415,000 after purchasing an additional 39,937 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Avangrid by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 225,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,818,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Avangrid by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 121,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 33,528 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Avangrid Stock Down 1.3 %

Avangrid stock opened at $36.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.56. Avangrid, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.46 and a 52 week high of $41.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.18. Avangrid had a return on equity of 4.37% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Avangrid’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avangrid, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Avangrid Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Avangrid’s payout ratio is currently 76.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AGR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Avangrid from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Avangrid from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Avangrid from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Avangrid in a report on Friday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avangrid has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.75.

About Avangrid

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.