Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Bought by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 23.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 26,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,035 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Avista by 6.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 8.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $37.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.08. Avista Co. has a 1 year low of $31.57 and a 1 year high of $39.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. Avista’s payout ratio is 76.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total transaction of $91,968.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $208,307.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.