Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 331,706 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Avista Corporation by 502.3% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 331,706 shares to own a total of 397,741 shares.
• Other institutional investors like Jane Street Group LLC and Hsbc Holdings PLC also significantly increased their stakes, indicating strong interest from the investment community.
• Avista Corporation reported a net margin of 9.13% and a missed EPS estimate of $0.28 with actual earnings of $0.17 for the most recent quarter.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 502.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 331,706 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.49% of Avista worth $15,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% during the first 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 last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake 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 worth $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 89,542 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 48.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 35,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 11,489 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Avista by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 243,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,176,000 after buying an additional 68,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the 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 represents a 14.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,108.95. This represents a 58.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE AVA opened at $36.64 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $36.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.54. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.11). Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 5.4%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 88.29%.

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.

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