36,605 Shares in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Bought by A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.

A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 36,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,340,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Avista by 7.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 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 during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Avista by 2.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Avista by 46.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of AVA stock traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.37. 113,873 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 475,915. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.48. Avista Co. has a one year low of $31.91 and a one year high of $39.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.29 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. Avista’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.75.

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.