PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 478 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 478 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AVA. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth about $1,232,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,007,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Avista by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter worth $561,000. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 11,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during 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 $40.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. Avista Co. has a 1 year low of $33.00 and a 1 year high of $40.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

About Avista

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.