Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,729 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.31% of Avista worth $8,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AVA. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 559.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 23.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 26,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 5,035 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,390,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Avista by 7.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in Avista by 75.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 6,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.8 %

AVA stock opened at $38.26 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $32.70 and a twelve month high of $39.99.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Company 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.