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.
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.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AVA
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
(
Free Report)
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.
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