Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 475,814 Avista Corporation $AVA

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 475,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,466,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth $37,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Avista in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Avista in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

AVA opened at $37.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.25. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.67.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

About Avista

Avista Corporation operates as an integrated energy company providing electric and natural gas delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest. Through its regulated utility operations, the company maintains and upgrades an extensive transmission and distribution network, delivering reliable energy to approximately 400,000 electric customers and 324,000 natural gas customers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its core utility business, Avista invests in owned generation assets, including hydroelectric, natural gas–fired, coal and wind facilities, to support system reliability and long-term supply planning.

Founded in 1889 as the Spokane and Inland Empire Water Power Company, the business adopted the Avista name in 1999 to reflect its growing energy portfolio and strategic focus on innovation.