South Dakota Investment Council Trims Stake in Avista Corporation $AVA

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 26.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,000 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Avista by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 15.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 681,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,766,000 after purchasing an additional 91,379 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 25.2% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 74,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,828,000 after buying an additional 15,067 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 9.2% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 93,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,539,000 after buying an additional 7,924 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 64.5% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 26,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Avista Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:AVA opened at $39.99 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $43.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.06.

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

Avista Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

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.