Caxton Associates LLP Makes New Investment in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP invested $722,000 in Avista Corporation by purchasing 17,234 shares during the first quarter, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Avista's quarterly earnings report showed a loss of $0.11 per share against analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 9.13% and revenue of $400 million.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share will be paid to shareholders of record on August 19th, reflecting a 5.4% dividend yield.

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 17,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth approximately $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Down 0.5%

Avista stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.86. The stock had a trading volume of 87,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,292. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.80 and a 52-week high of $43.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued 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 5.5%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

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.