Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Avista by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 36,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in Avista by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 84,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in Avista by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 38,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Avista by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Avista by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVA. Mizuho upgraded shares of Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company 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 report on Friday, May 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Avista Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE AVA opened at $34.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.99. 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 one year low of $30.53 and a one year high of $40.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. Avista’s payout ratio is 78.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total value of $61,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at $401,387.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,071.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $61,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,916 shares of company stock valued at $215,268. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.