Bailard Inc. Invests $658,000 in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $935,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Avista by 44.2% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 269,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,425,000 after acquiring an additional 82,500 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Avista by 140.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 92,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 53,983 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 109.6% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 34,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 17,784 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 188,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,588,000 after buying an additional 68,441 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded up $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $39.10. 285,524 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 533,447. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $30.53 and a 12 month high of $39.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.73 and a 200-day moving average of $35.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVA has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho upgraded Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,071.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,916 shares of company stock valued at $215,268 over the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.