Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

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

Avangrid Stock Performance

AGR opened at $35.53 on Tuesday. Avangrid has a twelve month low of $27.46 and a twelve month high of $37.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.50.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. Avangrid had a return on equity of 4.87% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avangrid will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avangrid Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Institutional Trading of Avangrid

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avangrid in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,204,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Avangrid by 6.1% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 32,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Avangrid during the second quarter worth about $318,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avangrid by 34.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 308,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,948,000 after acquiring an additional 79,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avangrid in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $452,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.