Glenmede Trust Co. NA Buys Shares of 17,995 Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $697,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Avista in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Avista in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,953 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $38.02 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.98 and its 200-day moving average is $37.34. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $31.91 and a twelve month high of $39.99. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.48.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.70%.

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.