5,627 Shares in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

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

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $40.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.76. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $33.00 and a 12 month high of $41.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 86.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.