Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 898 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the second quarter worth $40,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the first quarter worth $73,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total value of $91,968.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $208,307.52. This trade represents a 30.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avista Trading Up 0.3 %

AVA opened at $38.74 on Wednesday. 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 $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.29. 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 data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s payout ratio is 75.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock.

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.