Sei Investments Co. Acquires 69,857 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 348.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 89,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,857 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Avista were worth $3,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Avista during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Avista by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $73,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avista Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AVA stock opened at $37.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.47. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $30.89 and a 52-week high of $39.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.59.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $390.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.69 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 10.12%. Avista’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Avista’s payout ratio is 78.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total transaction of $91,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,436 shares in the company, valued at $208,307.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America initiated coverage on Avista in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company.

Avista Company 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.