Avista (NYSE:AVA) SVP Acquires $130,504.05 in Stock

Key Points

• Bryan Alden Cox, Avista's Senior Vice President, acquired 3,671 shares of the company's stock for a total of $130,504.05, increasing his ownership by 58.10%.
• Avista's stock price rose 2.3% to $36.35, with a current market capitalization of $2.95 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 5.4% and a payout ratio of 88.29%.

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 9,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $355,108.95. This represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of Avista stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,197,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,568. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Avista Corporation has a 12-month low of $34.80 and a 12-month high of $43.09. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.57.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $400.00 million for 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 firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's payout ratio is 88.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 531.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the second quarter worth $29,674,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 52.7% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,110,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,101,000 after acquiring an additional 728,543 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 498,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter worth $19,645,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.