Invenomic Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 66.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 230,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 91,668 shares during the quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP’s holdings in Avista were worth $8,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Avista by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Avista by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter worth approximately $73,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE AVA traded up $0.58 on Tuesday, reaching $39.53. 517,936 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 536,056. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.53 and a fifty-two week high of $39.78.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $594.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 9.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. Analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho raised Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total value of $61,557.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total value of $61,557.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were 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 owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,916 shares of company stock valued at $215,268 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Company 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.