Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $612,000 in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Avista by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Avista by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Avista by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Avista by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 25,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 11,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avista Trading Up 0.2 %

Avista stock opened at $40.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $33.00 and a 12-month high of $40.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.16 and a 200 day moving average of $37.75.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 86.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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 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.