Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 439,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,153 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.56% of Avista worth $16,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 25,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 7.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 19,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $38.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $32.70 and a twelve month high of $39.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.62 and a 200 day moving average of $37.55.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.70%.

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.