Dean Capital Management Increases Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Dean Capital Management increased its holdings in Avista Corporation by 69.9% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 19,746 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $2,010,000.
• Avista reported a miss in quarterly earnings with $0.17 earnings per share, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.28, alongside a revenue of $400 million compared to an expected $416.06 million.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.4%, with a payout ratio of 88.29% as stated in their recent dividend announcement.

Dean Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 69.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,995 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,746 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management owned 0.06% of Avista worth $2,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter worth $201,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter worth $722,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter worth $248,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Avista by 531.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153,389 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter worth $19,252,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE:AVA opened at $36.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $43.09.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.29%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $308,227.68. The trade was a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.

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