Dean Capital Management Sells 36,822 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Dean Capital Management lessened its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 56.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 36,822 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management's holdings in Avista were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 2,474.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Avista by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Avista by 296.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank increased 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 buying an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Avista stock traded down $0.80 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.95. The stock had a trading volume of 376,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 588,281. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista Co. has a 1 year low of $33.45 and a 1 year high of $43.09.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.