Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lessened its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 51,505 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned about 0.31% of Avista worth $9,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 2.0% in 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 during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Avista by 202.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 57,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,233,000 after buying an additional 38,550 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $561,000. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,340,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Avista by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,857,000 after purchasing an additional 27,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Avista Trading Up 1.0 %

Avista stock opened at $40.00 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. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $33.00 and a 12 month high of $40.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.71. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.48 million. Analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.