Avista Corporation $AVA Stock Position Lifted by Jane Street Group LLC

Key Points

• Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Avista Corporation by 8,255.8%, acquiring an additional 498,318 shares to bring its total ownership to approximately 504,354 shares, valued at $21.1 million.
• Avista Corporation reported earnings of $0.17 per share, missing analysts' estimates of $0.28, with revenue at $400 million compared to expectations of $416 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, representing an annual yield of 5.4% and a payout ratio of 88.29%.

Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 8,255.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 504,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 498,318 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned about 0.63% of Avista worth $21,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $331,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $790,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Avista by 983.2% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 98,649 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 89,542 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 243,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,176,000 after purchasing an additional 68,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Avista stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.36. The stock had a trading volume of 193,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,170. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. 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 released its earnings results 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 firm 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 period last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.