Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Increases Stock Position in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) by 2,285.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,698 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Avangrid were worth $31,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avangrid by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 3,537 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Avangrid in the 4th quarter worth $856,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Avangrid by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 41,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 6,008 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Avangrid by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avangrid by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Avangrid Stock Performance

Avangrid stock opened at $36.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Avangrid, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.46 and a 1-year high of $39.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.31 and its 200 day moving average is $33.52.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.18. Avangrid had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 4.35%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Avangrid, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Avangrid Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.