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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $433,782,000 after buying an additional 99,365 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,382,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,871,000 after purchasing an additional 103,844 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avista by 531.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153,389 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Avista by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,042,000 after buying an additional 13,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Avista by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 682,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,583,000 after buying an additional 108,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Down 0.1%

Avista stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.39. The stock had a trading volume of 408,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 579,694. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.69. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.80 and a 52 week high of $43.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $400.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $50,196.24. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.