8,450 Shares in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Acquired by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVA. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter valued at $10,076,000. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Avista by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,726,000 after buying an additional 222,500 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the fourth quarter worth about $7,875,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Avista by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,401,000 after acquiring an additional 168,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,838,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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Avista Stock Performance

AVA traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,993,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,955. Avista Co. has a 1 year low of $33.00 and a 1 year high of $40.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $37.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. Equities analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.