Inspire Advisors LLC Has $2.08 Million Stock Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,475 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Avista worth $2,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Avista during the third quarter worth $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Avista by 117.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Avista by 296.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Avista by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Avista by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Trading Down 0.1 %

Avista stock opened at $39.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.65. Avista Co. has a one year low of $33.00 and a one year high of $40.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. On average, analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

About Avista

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.