Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Stock Position Reduced by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 358,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 19,768 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Avista worth $13,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Avista by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 13,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Avista by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,908,000 after buying an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

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Avista Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of AVA stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.00. 877,163 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 474,751. The company's 50-day moving average price is $37.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.67. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $33.00 and a 12 month high of $40.23. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. This is a positive change from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate 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.