Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Sells 25,292 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC reduced its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 25,292 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned 0.16% of Avista worth $4,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,908,000 after purchasing an additional 24,981 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter valued at $561,000. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter valued at $1,340,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avista by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,857,000 after buying an additional 27,328 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter valued at $310,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AVA traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,121,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,650. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The business's 50 day moving average is $38.42 and its 200 day moving average is $37.82. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.00 and a fifty-two week high of $42.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 86.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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 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.