Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Bought by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 317.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Avista by 117.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Avista by 296.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 183.8% during 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. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Price Performance

AVA stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $38.31. 231,863 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 604,083. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's 50 day moving average is $40.35 and its 200 day moving average is $38.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $33.45 and a 12-month high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.