Convergence Investment Partners LLC Acquires 286 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 498,318 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 89,542 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11,489 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 68,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $790,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $39.14 on Monday. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.80 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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