Magellan Asset Management Ltd Cuts Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,770 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,075 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.07% of Avista worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 2,474.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Avista by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Avista by 296.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Avista by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AVA traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.99. 173,269 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 557,895. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $33.00 and a 12-month high of $43.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The firm 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a boost from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

About Avista

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.