Vanguard Group Inc. Has $305.23 Million Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,429,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,668 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.19% of Avista worth $305,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Avista by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avista by 21.1% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Avista by 83.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 148.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Avista by 15.5% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Guggenheim upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Avista Price Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $34.68 on Thursday. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.53 and a fifty-two week high of $45.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $504.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.78 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.20%.

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.