Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,699 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Avista were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVA. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $828,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Avista by 24.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 156,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,080,000 after purchasing an additional 30,540 shares in the last quarter. PATRIZIA Pty Ltd increased its stake in Avista by 13.0% in the third quarter. PATRIZIA Pty Ltd now owns 298,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,671,000 after purchasing an additional 34,257 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Avista by 8.5% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 10,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 4,850 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Up 1.8 %

AVA stock opened at $36.65 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $30.53 and a 12 month high of $44.76.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $504.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $545.78 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 7.07%. Avista’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.18%. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 85.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AVA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. Guggenheim upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.