Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $2.77 Million Stock Holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 112.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 34,931 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.08% of Avista worth $2,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 44,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 8,406 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 252.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 29.3% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 70,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,962,000 after acquiring an additional 16,042 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 34.7% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $246,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Price Performance

Avista stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $37.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,546. The business's fifty day moving average price is $39.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.45 and a twelve month high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.76%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Company Profile

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.