Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Stock Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers has reduced its stake in Avista Corporation by 2.9%, owning 237,027 shares worth approximately $9.92 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group, Westwood Holdings Group, and Millennium Management, have increased their stakes in Avista during the same period, highlighting significant investor interest.
• Avista recently reported a disappointing earnings quarter, missing consensus estimates and posting a revenue of $400 million, compared to the expected $416 million.

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 237,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,141 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.29% of Avista worth $9,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Avista by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Avista by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,052,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Avista by 155.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 114,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,199,000 after buying an additional 69,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Avista by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avista Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE AVA traded down $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.74. The company had a trading volume of 190,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,940. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.66. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.29%.

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.