First Pacific Financial Invests $798,000 in Avista Corporation $AVA

First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 20,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $798,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Avista by 5.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 6,967 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 283,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,857,000 after purchasing an additional 58,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $41.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.48. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $43.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.23.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Avista’s payout ratio is 82.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Avista Company Profile

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.