MQS Management LLC Makes New $224,000 Investment in Avista Corporation $AVA

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 5,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 498,318 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Avista by 983.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 98,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 89,542 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Avista by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 35,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 11,489 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 243,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,176,000 after purchasing an additional 68,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $790,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Avista in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avista currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the purchase, the senior vice president owned 9,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,108.95. The trade was a 58.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Price Performance

Avista stock opened at $39.00 on Tuesday. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.11. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $416.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

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

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.