GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 444 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA – Free Report) by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $52,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Avista by 8,255.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 498,318 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 983.2% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 98,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 89,542 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Avista by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 35,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 11,489 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the first quarter worth $331,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 39.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 243,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,176,000 after acquiring an additional 68,394 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.
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Avista Stock Up 0.8%
AVA opened at $37.01 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.40. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.80 and a 52 week high of $43.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.39.
Avista (NYSE:AVA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.06 million. Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Avista Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.29%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Avista
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,227.68. The trade was a 14.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,108.95. The trade was a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.
About Avista
(Free Report)
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.
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