ING Groep NV Acquires Shares of 31,700 Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR)

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 31,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,027,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGR. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avangrid during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Avangrid during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in Avangrid by 60.7% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Avangrid during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Avangrid in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avangrid from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “sell” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Avangrid in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Avangrid from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.75.

Avangrid Trading Down 0.2 %

AGR opened at $35.92 on Thursday. Avangrid, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.46 and a 12 month high of $39.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.43.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during 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%. Avangrid’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Avangrid, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avangrid Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.19%.

Avangrid 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.