Jennison Associates LLC Invests $691,000 in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,497 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $691,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 2,474.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 252.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the first quarter worth about $222,000. Vision Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Avista in the first quarter worth about $224,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake 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. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the 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 owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avista Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:AVA traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $37.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 343,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,638. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.80 and a 1 year high of $43.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.96 and a 200-day moving average of $38.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.76%.

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.