Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,228,299 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,706 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.55% of Avista worth $47,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Avista by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Avista by 256.6% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company.

Avista Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE AVA traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $38.06. 573,689 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 515,724. Avista Co. has a 1-year low of $31.91 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $37.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.47. 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 (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Avista's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.70%.

Avista 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.