GSA Capital Partners LLP Reduces Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

GSA Capital Partners LLP cut its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 78.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 57,490 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Avista were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the first quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 256.6% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total value 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 approximately $208,307.52. This trade represents a 30.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:AVA opened at $38.64 on Tuesday. Avista Co. has a 52 week low of $31.91 and a 52 week high of $39.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.92 and a 200 day moving average of $37.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.47.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

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.