Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 17,840 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 30.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,840 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Avista in the second quarter worth $29,674,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 52.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,110,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,101,000 after buying an additional 728,543 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Avista by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,191,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,032,000 after buying an additional 398,446 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,274,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,835,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,687,000 after acquiring an additional 170,388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVA shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on Avista in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. This represents a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $382,867.42. This represents a 15.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Performance

AVA stock opened at $39.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Avista Corporation has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $43.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.28.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.77%.

Avista Profile

Avista Corporation operates as an integrated energy company providing electric and natural gas delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest. Through its regulated utility operations, the company maintains and upgrades an extensive transmission and distribution network, delivering reliable energy to approximately 400,000 electric customers and 324,000 natural gas customers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its core utility business, Avista invests in owned generation assets, including hydroelectric, natural gas–fired, coal and wind facilities, to support system reliability and long-term supply planning.

Founded in 1889 as the Spokane and Inland Empire Water Power Company, the business adopted the Avista name in 1999 to reflect its growing energy portfolio and strategic focus on innovation.