Invesco Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 274,270 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Avista were worth $47,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,908,000 after buying an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Avista by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,855,000 after purchasing an additional 327,535 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Avista during the 4th quarter worth $561,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter worth about $1,007,000. Finally, A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Avista in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,340,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $89,047.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $41.75 on Wednesday. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $33.00 and a 12 month high of $43.09. 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 has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.00.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 86.34%.

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.