Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,278,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 379,801 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 1.61% of Avista worth $46,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 2.0% during the 4th 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. increased its position in shares of Avista by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,610,000 after purchasing an additional 147,007 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,855,000 after purchasing an additional 327,535 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,007,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Up 0.9%

AVA traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.50. 481,142 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 603,335. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.49. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $33.45 and a 52-week high of $43.09. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Avista's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 83.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista 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.