Principal Securities Inc. Buys 967 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 85,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 6,199 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Avista by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 13,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Avista by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Avista by 0.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 183.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $37.91 on Monday. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $32.70 and a 12-month high of $39.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on 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.