Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Stock Holdings Lowered by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC cut its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 784,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 73,453 shares during the quarter. Avista makes up about 1.2% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $28,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Avista by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,908,000 after acquiring an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Avista by 202.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 57,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after buying an additional 38,550 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth $561,000. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,340,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,328 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is 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 that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Avista Stock Performance

AVA stock opened at $39.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $33.00 and a twelve month high of $40.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $38.02 and its 200-day moving average is $37.72. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced 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 business had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%. 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.