Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Acquired by Dean Capital Management

Dean Capital Management raised its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,298 shares during the quarter. Avista comprises about 1.1% of Dean Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Dean Capital Management owned 0.06% of Avista worth $1,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVA. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Avista by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 4,459 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Avista by 14.1% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 42,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 1.6% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 166,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,390,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Avista by 5.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 996,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,249,000 after purchasing an additional 51,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Avista by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 74,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 17,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $61,261.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,897.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $61,261.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,897.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,916 shares of company stock worth $215,268. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $35.03. The stock had a trading volume of 470,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,967. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.49. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.53 and a fifty-two week high of $41.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.04.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AVA shares. Mizuho upgraded Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

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.