Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Bought by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 74,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,067 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $2,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth $3,669,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 519,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,659,000 after purchasing an additional 38,651 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,118,000. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 50.4% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 288,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,897,000 after buying an additional 96,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 70.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 79,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 32,926 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $382,867.42. This trade represents a 15.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avista Price Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $39.99 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.28.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Avista’s payout ratio is 82.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on Avista in a report on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.33.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation operates as an integrated energy company providing electric and natural gas delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest. Through its regulated utility operations, the company maintains and upgrades an extensive transmission and distribution network, delivering reliable energy to approximately 400,000 electric customers and 324,000 natural gas customers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its core utility business, Avista invests in owned generation assets, including hydroelectric, natural gas–fired, coal and wind facilities, to support system reliability and long-term supply planning.

Founded in 1889 as the Spokane and Inland Empire Water Power Company, the business adopted the Avista name in 1999 to reflect its growing energy portfolio and strategic focus on innovation.