Guggenheim Capital LLC Lowers Position in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) by 61.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,003 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Avangrid were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Avangrid by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 48,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,923,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG grew its position in Avangrid by 3,111.8% in the first quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 11,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 10,829 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in Avangrid by 135.1% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 11,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 6,562 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Avangrid by 4.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Avangrid by 2,356.9% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 12,515 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.93% of the company’s stock.

Avangrid Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Avangrid stock opened at $33.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. Avangrid, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.37 and a 52-week high of $50.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.43.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Avangrid had a return on equity of 2.94% and a net margin of 7.23%. Avangrid’s revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Avangrid, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Avangrid Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.24%. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Avangrid from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. KeyCorp raised shares of Avangrid from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. TheStreet cut shares of Avangrid from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, August 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Avangrid from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Avangrid from $39.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.75.

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 in two segments: Networks and Renewables. It is involved in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity; and distribution, transportation, and sale of natural gas.