Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 26,706 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,228,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,706 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $47,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 4.0% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 6.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Avista by 0.9% during the second quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 63,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $38.69 on Monday. Avista Co. has a one year low of $31.91 and a one year high of $39.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.34.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.29 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Research analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Bank of America started coverage on 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.