Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Sold by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 48.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 94,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 88,280 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in Avista were worth $3,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Avista by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Bayban acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at $43,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $36.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.25.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 71.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total value of $174,097.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,358.16. This represents a 35.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AVA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Avista from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avista presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Avista Profile

Avista Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Spokane, Washington, operating primarily through its regulated utility businesses. Its principal subsidiary, Avista Utilities, provides electric and natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Avista Utilities operates electric and natural gas systems in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, as well as parts of Oregon. Through Alaska Electric Light & Power Company, Avista also provides electric service in Juneau, Alaska.