Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 24,981 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,981 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.58% of Avista worth $45,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $70,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,328 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Avista by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,401,000 after buying an additional 168,648 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Avista by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,726,000 after buying an additional 222,500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 439,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,105,000 after buying an additional 19,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 25.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 311,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,072,000 after buying an additional 62,615 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.00. The stock had a trading volume of 877,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,751. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. Avista Co. has a 1 year low of $33.00 and a 1 year high of $40.23. The business's 50 day moving average price is $37.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.67.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Research analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Avista's payout ratio is presently 86.34%.

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.