Swiss National Bank Sells 1,100 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 152,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Avista were worth $5,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 4.0% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Avista by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 7.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 6.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 63,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock.

Avista Price Performance

AVA opened at $38.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.33. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $31.91 and a 12-month high of $39.99.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.29 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. Avista’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

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.