Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lowered its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,804 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Algert Global LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 202.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 57,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,233,000 after buying an additional 38,550 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Avista by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,295,000 after buying an additional 34,829 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,857,000 after buying an additional 27,328 shares during the last quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,340,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,672,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AVA opened at $37.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $32.70 and a twelve month high of $39.99. 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’s 50 day moving average is $36.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.55.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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.