James Investment Research Inc. Makes New Investment in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

James Investment Research Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 12,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,328 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,299 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,597,000 after purchasing an additional 26,706 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,295,000 after purchasing an additional 34,829 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 374,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,501,000 after purchasing an additional 117,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 311,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,072,000 after purchasing an additional 62,615 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Avista Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AVA traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $37.51. 429,541 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 443,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day moving average is $36.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.55. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.70 and a fifty-two week high of $39.99.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a positive change from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.22%. Avista's dividend payout ratio 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.