Deutsche Bank AG Raises Stock Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 155.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 69,754 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.14% of Avista worth $4,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,908,000 after purchasing an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Avista by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,610,000 after purchasing an additional 147,007 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,855,000 after purchasing an additional 327,535 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $561,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,007,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $39.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $40.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.47. Avista Co. has a 1-year low of $33.45 and a 1-year high of $43.09. 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 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). The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.01%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.

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