Rhumbline Advisers Cuts Stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,141 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.30% of Avista worth $9,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,908,000 after purchasing an additional 24,981 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Avista by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,610,000 after purchasing an additional 147,007 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $375,855,000 after buying an additional 327,535 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $561,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,007,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.0%

AVA stock opened at $37.31 on Tuesday. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.45 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.76%.

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.