Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Acquired by SPC Financial Inc.

SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 31.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Avista during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Avista by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its position in Avista by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Avista in the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Avista in the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVA. Mizuho raised Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $61,261.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,196 shares in the company, valued at $256,897.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Avista news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $61,557.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $61,261.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,196 shares in the company, valued at $256,897.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,916 shares of company stock worth $215,268. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $35.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.97. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.53 and a fifty-two week high of $40.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $594.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 9.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.84%.

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.