Quantbot Technologies LP Has $3.16 Million Stock Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP significantly increased its stake in Avista Corporation by 351.3% in Q1, now holding 75,366 shares worth approximately $3.15 million.
• Avista reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17, missing analyst expectations of $0.28, with a revenue of $400 million against a forecast of $416.06 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.96 and a dividend yield of 5.3%, with the next payment due on September 15th.

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 351.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,366 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,666 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.09% of Avista worth $3,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $433,782,000 after purchasing an additional 99,365 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,967,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $108,687,000 after buying an additional 53,222 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 8.1% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,382,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,871,000 after buying an additional 103,844 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,042,000 after buying an additional 13,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Avista by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,025,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,548,000 after buying an additional 79,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $38,727.68. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at $435,497.30. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:AVA traded down $0.1770 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $37.1330. The stock had a trading volume of 78,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,884. The business's 50 day moving average is $37.58 and its 200 day moving average is $38.80. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.80 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.The firm had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation 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 Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.29%.

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.