Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Invests $313,000 in Avista Corporation $AVA

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 8,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVA. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Avista by 252.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth $102,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Avista by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

Avista stock opened at $39.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.08 and its 200 day moving average is $38.13.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.The firm had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox bought 3,671 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at $355,108.95. The trade was a 58.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AVA shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

About Avista

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.