Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $2.47 Million Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,538 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.09% of Avista worth $2,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in Avista by 44.2% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 269,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,425,000 after acquiring an additional 82,500 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Avista by 140.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 92,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 53,983 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista by 109.6% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 34,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 17,784 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 188,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,588,000 after buying an additional 68,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Avista by 383.0% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 22,156 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AVA opened at $38.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.47. Avista Co. has a 52 week low of $30.53 and a 52 week high of $39.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.08 and a 200 day moving average of $36.21.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.07. Avista had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 10.12%. The business had revenue of $390.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $386.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.84%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total transaction of $91,968.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $208,307.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company.

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.