JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 147,007 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 44.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 480,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 147,007 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.61% of Avista worth $17,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Avista by 296.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Avista by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 309.3% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE:AVA traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $42.31. The stock had a trading volume of 77,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,220. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $33.22 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.02.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. Avista's payout ratio is 86.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.