Sei Investments Co. Buys 6,261 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,261 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.16% of Avista worth $4,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 117.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Avista by 296.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of Avista by 309.3% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $42.51 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.55 and a 200-day moving average of $37.85. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. 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 52 week low of $33.00 and a 52 week high of $42.52.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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.

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.