Citigroup Inc. Raises Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 30.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 41,431 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.22% of Avista worth $6,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Avista by 0.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,551,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $122,916,000 after buying an additional 13,445 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 4.2% during 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,299 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,597,000 after purchasing an additional 26,706 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its position 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 during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 9.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,295,000 after purchasing an additional 34,829 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Avista Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AVA traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.69. The company had a trading volume of 251,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,396. Avista Co. has a 52 week low of $31.91 and a 52 week high of $39.99. The business's 50-day moving average is $38.00 and its 200-day moving average is $37.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS 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 business had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 75.70%.

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.