Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,141 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.30% of Avista worth $9,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avista in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,139,000. Demars Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,047,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,855,000 after buying an additional 327,535 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Avista by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,016,000 after acquiring an additional 274,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,726,000 after acquiring an additional 222,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Down 1.6%

AVA stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.28. 592,940 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 608,850. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $39.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.45 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $603.00 million for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.49 per share. 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 5.26%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.76%.

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.