Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Holdings Cut by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 122,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,723 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $4,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avista by 178.0% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avista by 21.1% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Avista by 83.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 148.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 15.5% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $33.84 on Tuesday. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $30.53 and a 12 month high of $44.83. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.06). Avista had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 9.77%. The firm had revenue of $504.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 85.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVA. Guggenheim raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

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.