Reasons to Add Avangrid Stock to Your Portfolio Right Now

Avangrid Inc.’s AGR strategic capital expenditure plans should further assist in upgrading its infrastructure and facilities. The company is expanding its clean energy generation capacity, which should boost its performance. Given its growth opportunities, AGR makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.Let’s focus on the factors that make this currently Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.AGR’s Growth Projections & Surprise HistoryThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 4.5% in the past 60 days to $2.34.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pinned at $8.53 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of 2.7%.The company’s long-term (three to five-year) earnings growth rate is 6%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 43.8% in the past four quarters.Debt Position of AGRCurrently, Avangrid’s total debt to capital is 37.59%, better than the industry’s average of 60.03%.The time to interest earned ratio at the end of third-quarter 2024 was 3.2. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.AGR’s Dividend HistoryThe utility company has been consistently increasing shareholder value by paying dividends. Currently, its quarterly dividend is 44 cents per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.76. The company’s current dividend yield is 4.87%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 1.2%.AGR’s Systematic InvestmentsAvangrid has long-term investment plans to further upgrade its infrastructure. It consistently spends capital to maintain and upgrade its infrastructure and facilities. In the first nine months of 2024, the company invested nearly $2.85 billion, up 37.3% from the year-ago period’s figure and expects to incur nearly $1.3 billion in capital expenditures through the remainder of 2024.AGR’s Focus on Clean Power GenerationThe company is expanding its clean energy generation capacity and adding more wind and solar sources to its portfolio, which should enhance its earnings performance.Renewables reached 9 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity. With a portfolio of more than 75 projects in 22 states, Avangrid now has more than 8 GW of installed wind capacity and around 1 GW of installed solar, including projects currently under construction. This includes 472 megawatts (MW) of renegotiated power purchase agreement (PPA) and 526 MW of new PPA signed in 2023. Nearly 700 MW of these projects are to support data centers with clean energy from onshore wind and solar.AGR’s Stock Price PerformanceIn the past month, shares of AGR have risen 1% compared with the industry’s growth of 0.3%. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchOther Stocks to ConsiderA few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are Vistra Corp. VST, which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, and NiSource Inc. NI and Ameren Corporation AEE, both holding a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.VST’s long-term earnings growth rate is 17.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2024 EPS is pinned at $4.96, indicating year-over-year growth of 38.2%.NiSource’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.95%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $1.73, indicating a year-over-year improvement of 8.1%.AEE’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.59%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2024 EPS is pinned at $4.61, indicating a year-over-year increase of 5.3%. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.1% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ameren Corporation (AEE): Free Stock Analysis Report NiSource, Inc (NI): Free Stock Analysis Report Avangrid, Inc. (AGR): Free Stock Analysis Report Vistra Corp. (VST): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks