Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Avista by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Avista by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Avista by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 25,772 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 11,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Avista Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AVA traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.50. 873,889 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 560,105. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.95 and a 200-day moving average of $37.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. Avista Co. has a 1-year low of $33.00 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. Analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.96%. This is an increase from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 86.34%.

About Avista

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.