Congress Asset Management Co. MA Raises Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA owned 0.11% of Avista worth $3,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 1.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,429,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,229,000 after buying an additional 159,668 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Avista by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,539,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,519,000 after purchasing an additional 26,454 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 13.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,820,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,944,000 after purchasing an additional 212,343 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 49.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,179,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,196,000 after purchasing an additional 390,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,051,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,597,000 after acquiring an additional 55,697 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Avista Stock Down 0.0 %

AVA opened at $34.19 on Tuesday. 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 $40.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.12 and its 200 day moving average is $35.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.49.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $594.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $469.34 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.56%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.84%.

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 value of $61,261.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,897.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the company’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 approximately $256,897.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $92,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,071.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,916 shares of company stock worth $215,268 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.