Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,050 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 46.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,050 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Avista during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.75.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $36.03 on Wednesday. Avista Co. has a 1 year low of $31.91 and a 1 year high of $39.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.47.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 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.