Quarry LP Boosts Stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Quarry LP grew its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 67.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in Avista were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in Avista by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 41,325.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Avista in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at $229,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Avista news, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $92,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $61,557.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,916 shares of company stock worth $215,268. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AVA. StockNews.com raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho raised shares of Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Avista Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of AVA opened at $34.20 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.49. Avista Co. has a one year low of $30.53 and a one year high of $40.89.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $594.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. Avista’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.56%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.