Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 32,223 Shares of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) by 14.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 262,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,223 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Avangrid were worth $9,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avangrid by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Avangrid in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avangrid by 736.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,792 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Avangrid by 179.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 157,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,120,000 after purchasing an additional 101,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Avangrid by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 13,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Avangrid in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.67.

Avangrid Stock Performance

Shares of Avangrid stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.50. 797,349 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 871,441. The company has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.55. Avangrid, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.46 and a 12 month high of $38.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.56.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. Avangrid had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 4.89%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avangrid, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avangrid Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio 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.