Squarepoint Ops LLC Decreases Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Squarepoint Ops LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 49.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,567 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Avista were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 290.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 137,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,325,000 after buying an additional 102,231 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Avista by 97.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Avista by 183.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Avista by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Avista by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

Avista stock opened at $37.26 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $33.45 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50-day moving average is $39.97 and its 200 day moving average is $38.52.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.76%.

About Avista

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.

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