Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $11.90 Million Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,238 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.41% of Avista worth $11,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Avista by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Avista by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Avista by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 25,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 11,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AVA opened at $40.01 on Tuesday. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $33.00 and a 12-month high of $40.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.68.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Equities research analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.34%.

Avista 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.