Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 417 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 417 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.06% of Avista worth $1,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 39,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $298,000. Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $572,000. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,122,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 156.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Avista from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Avista from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Avista from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Avista from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Avista from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th.

Avista Trading Down 0.3 %

AVA traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.81. 95,815 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 763,562. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $30.53 and a 52-week high of $45.28.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $369.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.31 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, Chairman Scott L. Morris acquired 3,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.39 per share, with a total value of $100,409.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 128,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,151,393.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company 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.