Eastern Bank Acquires 1,392 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVAFree Report) by 309.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Avista were worth $67,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Avista by 46.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $35.98 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.91 and a fifty-two week high of $39.99.

Avista (NYSE:AVAGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.28%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 75.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Avista in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.75.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Avista

Avista Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Avista (NYSE:AVA)

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