Two Sigma Advisers LP Acquires 33,900 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 29.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,900 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.19% of Avista worth $5,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 2,474.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 296.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 183.8% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 139,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,873. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.52. Avista Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.45 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the business'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 transaction of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.