Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,190 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $9,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,139,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,855,000 after purchasing an additional 327,535 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in Avista by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,726,000 after purchasing an additional 222,500 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the fourth quarter worth $7,875,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $43,401,000 after purchasing an additional 168,648 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $41.94 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.00 and a fifty-two week high of $42.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.33 and a 200-day moving average of $37.79.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. As a group, analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.