Blue Trust Inc. Lowers Stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Avista by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in Avista by 309.3% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $36.73 on Friday. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $31.91 and a 12-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 company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.70.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.70%.

About Avista

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.