Scotia Capital Inc. Decreases Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Scotia Capital Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 37.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,025 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Avista were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 327,535 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Avista by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,328 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Avista by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,016,000 after acquiring an additional 274,270 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,908,000 after acquiring an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,401,000 after purchasing an additional 168,648 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AVA traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.80. The stock had a trading volume of 531,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,019. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.07. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. Sell-side analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. This is an increase from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista's payout ratio is 86.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.