Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Acquired by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 43.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Avista were worth $63,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Avista by 4.0% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Avista by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Avista by 2.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 46.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Avista by 4.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVA shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Avista in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.75.

Avista Price Performance

AVA stock opened at $36.59 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.44. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $31.91 and a 52-week high of $39.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.48. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. 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.