Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Sold by Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC

Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC lessened its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 327,535 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $70,857,000 after purchasing an additional 27,328 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Avista by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,016,000 after purchasing an additional 274,270 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 24,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,401,000 after buying an additional 168,648 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $40.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.95. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. Avista Co. has a one year low of $33.00 and a one year high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.48 million. On average, research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 86.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.