Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Stock Holdings Increased by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 317.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 217,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 165,125 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.27% of Avista worth $7,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avista by 117.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Avista by 296.7% in the fourth 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. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Price Performance

AVA stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $38.10. 499,895 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 604,411. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.52. Avista Co. has a one year low of $33.45 and a one year high of $43.09. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.76%.

Avista 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.