UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 8,610 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 211,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,610 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $8,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Avista in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth about $40,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Avista by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 256.6% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Avista in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.75.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $37.41 on Tuesday. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.91 and a fifty-two week high of $39.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.89 and a 200-day moving average of $37.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.70%.

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.