Quantbot Technologies LP Has $1.50 Million Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 30,668 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,495,000 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 bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,674,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 52.7% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,110,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,101,000 after acquiring an additional 728,543 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Avista by 8.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,191,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,032,000 after purchasing an additional 398,446 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth about $7,274,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,835,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,687,000 after purchasing an additional 170,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total value of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,867.42. This represents a 15.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $337,552.18. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Avista Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $39.99 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.06. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $43.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.56. 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 released its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

About Avista

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.