Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 214,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,875,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC owned about 0.27% of Avista at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Avista Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of AVA traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.00. The stock had a trading volume of 877,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,751. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.00 and a fifty-two week high of $40.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. 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 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 analysts' expectations of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.34%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.