Rhumbline Advisers Has $9.92 Million Stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings 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 valued at $45,908,000 after purchasing an additional 24,981 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,610,000 after buying an additional 147,007 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 3.3% in the 4th 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter valued at $561,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter worth $1,007,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Performance

AVA stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $37.87. The stock had a trading volume of 209,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,971. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.49. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.45 and a fifty-two week 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 issued 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 firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. 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. Investors 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 5.18%. 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.