Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Avista Corporation by 21.1%, ending the first quarter with 83,481 shares valued at approximately $3.50 million.
• Other institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings, with Jane Street Group LLC raising its stake by 8,222.6% to over $21 million.
• Avista announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 5.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 19th.

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,481 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 22,341 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.10% of Avista worth $3,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 5.5% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,934 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in Avista by 3.2% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Avista by 7.9% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 5,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Avista by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Avista by 1.9% in the first quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 24,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $308,227.68. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Up 1.1%

Avista stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 744,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,591. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.80 and a 1 year high of $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock's fifty day moving average is $37.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.59.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were 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 was Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.29%.

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.