Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Buys New Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 115,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,224,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC owned 0.15% of Avista as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its stake in Avista by 309.3% in the 4th 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. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Avista by 46.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Avista Price Performance

Avista stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $36.72. 486,963 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,263. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $31.91 and a 12-month high of $39.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $36.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.70%.

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.