75,363 Shares in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Bought by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 75,363 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,761,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.10% of Avista as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Avista by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of Avista by 309.3% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Avista in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.75.

Avista Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AVA traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.27. The stock had a trading volume of 434,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,163. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.63. Avista Co. has a 1-year low of $31.91 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $389.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. Avista's payout ratio is 75.70%.

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.