Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury trimmed its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,232 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Avista were worth $812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVA. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Avista by 290.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 137,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,325,000 after buying an additional 102,231 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $155,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 9.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,295,000 after purchasing an additional 34,829 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,672,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded down $0.53 during trading on Thursday, hitting $40.47. 95,721 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 579,780. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $33.45 and a 12-month high of $43.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $40.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.40.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. Avista's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company 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.