Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 19,153 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 439,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,153 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Avista worth $16,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Avista by 559.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,597 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Avista by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 26,687 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 5,035 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth $33,390,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Avista by 7.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,330 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Avista by 75.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 6,344 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.92. 1,052,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,310. The stock's fifty day moving average is $36.90 and its 200 day moving average is $37.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $32.70 and a 1-year high of $40.21.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $517.00 million for 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. This is a boost from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.09%.

Avista Company 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.