Millennium Management LLC Grows Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 317.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 217,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 165,125 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Avista worth $7,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Avista by 2,474.1% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 117.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Avista by 296.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Avista by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 183.8% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Trading Up 0.8%

AVA traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 627,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,829. Avista Co. has a 52-week low of $33.45 and a 52-week high of $43.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.76%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.