AlphaQuest LLC Trims Stock Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

AlphaQuest LLC cut its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 62.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 36,973 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth about $313,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 12,119 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 558 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth about $960,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Avista during the second quarter worth about $628,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avista Price Performance

AVA 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. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.80 and a 1 year high of $43.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.12.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $416.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AVA shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

About Avista

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.