Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 83,062 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 364.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 83,062 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Avista worth $3,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Avista by 46.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 30,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Avista by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 67,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,583 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Avista during the third quarter worth about $5,838,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Avista Stock Performance

Avista stock traded up $0.00 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $39.70. The company had a trading volume of 743,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,376. Avista Co. has a one year low of $33.00 and a one year high of $40.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.86 and a 200 day moving average of $37.70. 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 (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.34%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.