Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 62.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 36,973 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth $313,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Avista by 206.4% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 17,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 12,119 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Avista by 8.9% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,820 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth $960,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth $628,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.9%

Avista stock opened at $39.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.80 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.12.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.11). Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.06 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,108.95. This represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AVA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

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.