Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $12.07 Million Stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 25.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 311,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 62,615 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.40% of Avista worth $12,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Avista in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Avista during the third quarter worth $29,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Avista by 46.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avista Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AVA stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.53. The company had a trading volume of 382,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 518,592. Avista Co. has a 1-year low of $31.91 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.93 and a 200 day moving average of $37.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.47.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $389.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 75.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total value of $91,968.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $208,307.52. The trade was a 30.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Company 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.