Martingale Asset Management L P Purchases 6,089 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,089 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P owned 0.15% of Avista worth $4,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,908,000 after purchasing an additional 24,981 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter worth $561,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $375,855,000 after acquiring an additional 327,535 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter worth $1,007,000. Finally, A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Avista during the fourth quarter valued at $1,340,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Avista Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AVA stock opened at $39.70 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.93. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $33.00 and a 12-month high of $43.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 86.34%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.