Crestline Management LP Invests $329,000 in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Avista by 290.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 137,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,325,000 after purchasing an additional 102,231 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Avista by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,295,000 after acquiring an additional 34,829 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Avista by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 54,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in Avista by 309.3% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbia Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in Avista by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Columbia Advisory Partners LLC now owns 9,409 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of Avista stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $38.77. The company had a trading volume of 121,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,270. Avista Co. has a 1-year low of $33.45 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $40.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.43. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista 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.