Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Avista were worth $859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Avista by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Avista by 309.3% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $37.91 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.55. Avista Co. has a 52 week low of $32.70 and a 52 week high of $39.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.49.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. Avista’s payout ratio is 78.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

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.