Corebridge Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,239 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Avista worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Avista by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $375,855,000 after buying an additional 327,535 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,328 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,908,000 after acquiring an additional 24,981 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Avista by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,401,000 after acquiring an additional 168,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in Avista by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,726,000 after purchasing an additional 222,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Up 0.6 %

AVA opened at $42.51 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $38.55 and its 200-day moving average is $37.85. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $33.00 and a 52-week high of $42.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued 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). Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. Analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Avista’s payout ratio is 86.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 report 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.