Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Grows Stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 289.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,927 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,908,000 after purchasing an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Avista by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,610,000 after buying an additional 147,007 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,855,000 after acquiring an additional 327,535 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter valued at $561,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter worth $1,007,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $41.08 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.40. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $33.45 and a twelve month high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.34%.

Avista Company 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.