Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 420,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,829 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $16,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 6.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Avista by 7.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Avista by 6.9% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $37.74 on Friday. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $31.91 and a 52-week high of $39.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.94 and a 200-day moving average of $37.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.29 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.03%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.70%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the company’s 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 owns 5,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $208,307.52. This represents a 30.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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