Avista Corporation $AVA Stake Lowered by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Avista stake by 48.2% in the second quarter, selling 88,280 shares and retaining 94,763 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.24% of Avista.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” from seven analysts, with an average price target of $39.25. The stock opened at $36.80, near its 52-week low.
• Avista exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.43 versus the $0.23 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $413 million. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, implying a 5.4% annualized yield.

Engineers Gate Manager LP trimmed its stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 48.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 88,280 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned about 0.11% of Avista worth $3,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Avista in the second quarter worth $605,448,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,305,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $204,465,000 after acquiring an additional 45,696 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Avista by 3,930.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,841,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $157,165,000 after acquiring an additional 3,746,408 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,985,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,550,000 after acquiring an additional 7,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,807,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,657,000 after acquiring an additional 257,834 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AVA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avista from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Avista from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total value of $174,097.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $310,358.16. The trade was a 35.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Down 0.9%

Avista stock opened at $36.80 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. Avista had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $426.93 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.12%.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Spokane, Washington, operating primarily through its regulated utility businesses. Its principal subsidiary, Avista Utilities, provides electric and natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Avista Utilities operates electric and natural gas systems in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, as well as parts of Oregon. Through Alaska Electric Light & Power Company, Avista also provides electric service in Juneau, Alaska.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.