Neo Ivy Capital Management Invests $2.12 Million in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Key Points

• Neo Ivy Capital Management has invested approximately $2.12 million in Avista Corporation by acquiring 50,512 shares, representing a 0.06% ownership in the company.
• Avista announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, yielding 5.28%, with a payout ratio of 83.76%.
• Avista Corporation reported $0.98 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates by $0.07, while generating $603 million in revenue, also below expectations.

Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 50,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,115,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management owned approximately 0.06% of Avista at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter valued at $331,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter valued at $790,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Avista by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,610,000 after purchasing an additional 147,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,855,000 after purchasing an additional 327,535 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $38,727.68. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avista Stock Up 0.5%

AVA traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.15. 502,754 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 667,240. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $37.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.65. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.40. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.80 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.28%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.76%.

Avista Company 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.