Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,804 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,804 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Avista by 296.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Avista by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in Avista by 309.3% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AVA opened at $37.91 on Friday. Avista Co. has a one year low of $32.70 and a one year high of $39.99. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.55.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.