Man Group plc Trims Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Man Group plc trimmed its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,128 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,601 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.11% of Avista worth $3,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 2,474.1% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Avista by 117.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Avista by 296.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Price Performance

Avista stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.36. The company had a trading volume of 60,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,725. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $33.45 and a 12-month high of $43.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $40.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.52.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 5.11%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.76%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on 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.