Nuance Investments LLC Sells 316,019 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Nuance Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 858,376 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 316,019 shares during the period. Avista makes up approximately 1.1% of Nuance Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned approximately 1.09% of Avista worth $33,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 8.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,559,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,772,000 after acquiring an additional 33,431 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $264,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Avista by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 69,708 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,441,000 after acquiring an additional 4,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $73,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Avista Stock Performance

AVA traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.53. 382,118 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,592. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.30. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $31.91 and a 52-week high of $39.99.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.29 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid 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 4.93%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total value of $91,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $208,307.52. This represents a 30.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.