Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 214,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,875,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 27,328 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Avista by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,401,000 after purchasing an additional 168,648 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in Avista by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,726,000 after acquiring an additional 222,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 439,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,105,000 after purchasing an additional 19,153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value 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. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $38.83 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.35 and a 200-day moving average of $37.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $33.00 and a 52-week high of $40.23.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. On average, equities analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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