Nuveen Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 180,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 41,327 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.23% of Avista worth $6,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 317.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 217,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,953,000 after buying an additional 165,125 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Avista by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 420,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,421,000 after buying an additional 25,605 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista by 75.2% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Avista by 155.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 114,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,199,000 after buying an additional 69,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AVA traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.55. The stock had a trading volume of 729,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 606,573. 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 52-week low of $33.45 and a 52-week high of $43.09. The business's fifty day moving average is $40.30 and its 200 day moving average is $38.54. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Avista's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.