Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Short Interest Down 16.1% in May

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, a drop of 16.1% from the April 30th total of 3,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 929,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 505,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,851. The business's 50 day moving average price is $40.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.54. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $33.45 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Avista's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 531.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,383,000 after buying an additional 1,153,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,139,000. Demars Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter worth $21,047,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 498,318 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth $19,645,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.