Jump Financial LLC Takes Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC has acquired a new position in Avista Corporation worth approximately $6.29 million, owning about 0.19% of the company after purchasing 150,117 shares.
• Avista recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.3%, to be paid on September 15th.
• Despite a decline in earnings per share to $0.17 for the last quarter, Avista's stock has recently traded up by 1.8% and has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion.

Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 150,117 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,285,000. Jump Financial LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Avista at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth $43,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth $102,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.7%

AVA traded up $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.04. The stock had a trading volume of 561,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,629. The stock's 50 day moving average is $37.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.78. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.40. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $34.80 and a one 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.11). Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's payout ratio is 88.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.96% 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.