Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Takes $257,000 Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delta Asset Management LLC TN acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 146.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Cutler Group LLC CA acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista by 146.4% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 178.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Down 0.8 %

AVA stock opened at $33.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.97. Avista Co. has a one year low of $32.27 and a one year high of $45.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.36.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $379.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.20 million. Avista had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 6.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.53%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 95.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Morris acquired 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.39 per share, with a total value of $100,409.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 128,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,151,393.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Scott L. Morris acquired 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.39 per share, with a total value of $100,409.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 128,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,151,393.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.90, for a total transaction of $38,745.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $211,326.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,850 shares of company stock valued at $194,639. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Avista from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Avista from $38.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Avista in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Avista from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 25th.

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.