Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 32,278 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 378,224 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 32,278 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.48% of Avista worth $14,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,559,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,772,000 after purchasing an additional 33,431 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Avista by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,551,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $122,916,000 after purchasing an additional 13,445 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,904,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,701,000 after purchasing an additional 174,951 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Avista by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,534,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,103,000 after purchasing an additional 61,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in Avista by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 692,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,983,000 after purchasing an additional 83,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.53. 382,118 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,592. The company's 50-day moving average is $37.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.47. Avista Co. has a 1 year low of $31.91 and a 1 year high of $39.99.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total value of $91,968.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,436 shares in the company, valued at $208,307.52. This represents a 30.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.