Gabelli Funds LLC Decreases Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 409,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.52% of Avista worth $15,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,855,000 after purchasing an additional 327,535 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 1.5% during 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 buying an additional 27,328 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted 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 worth $47,016,000 after buying an additional 274,270 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $45,908,000 after buying an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Avista by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,401,000 after acquiring an additional 168,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Price Performance

AVA stock opened at $41.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.41 and a 200-day moving average of $38.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $33.00 and a 12 month high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 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 firm had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.48 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a 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.