Versor Investments LP Lowers Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Versor Investments LP cut its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,394 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Avista were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 296.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Avista by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its position in Avista by 309.3% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Avista Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE AVA opened at $39.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista Co. has a 52 week low of $32.70 and a 52 week high of $40.17.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 78.09%.

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.