Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Holdings Trimmed by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 39.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,366 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Avista were worth $1,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 2,474.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 117.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 296.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $41.15. The stock had a trading volume of 493,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,248. The company's 50-day moving average is $40.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.17. Avista Co. has a one year low of $33.45 and a one year high of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. On average, analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.