Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 6,190 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,190 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Avista worth $9,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,855,000 after buying an additional 327,535 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Avista by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,857,000 after buying an additional 27,328 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,908,000 after acquiring an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,401,000 after purchasing an additional 168,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,019,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,332,000 after purchasing an additional 94,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Avista Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.51. 542,415 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 550,837. The business's 50-day moving average price is $38.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.82. 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 $42.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business 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%. Analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.34%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.