Versor Investments LP Purchases New Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 21,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $433,782,000 after purchasing an additional 99,365 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 8.1% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,382,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,871,000 after purchasing an additional 103,844 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 531.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153,389 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,042,000 after purchasing an additional 13,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% during the first 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $38.14 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.80 and a 52-week high of $43.09.

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). The company had revenue of $400.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.06 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVA. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,227.68. The trade was a 14.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.