Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Purchased by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 124.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,471 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Avista were worth $904,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in Avista by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 84,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Avista by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 6.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Avista by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America assumed coverage on Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total transaction of $91,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $208,307.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avista Price Performance

AVA opened at $38.97 on Tuesday. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $30.53 and a twelve month high of $39.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.21.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $390.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $386.69 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 10.12%. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.84%.

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.