KBC Group NV Raises Stock Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Avista were worth $81,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Avista in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Avista in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Avista by 256.6% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $39.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.32. Avista Co. has a 52 week low of $31.91 and a 52 week high of $39.99.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced 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. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Avista’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.70%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,307.52. The trade was a 30.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Bank of America initiated coverage on Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock.

Avista 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.