Two Sigma Investments LP Cuts Stock Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 43.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,878 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,449 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Avista were worth $728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,908,000 after buying an additional 24,981 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter valued at $561,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter valued at $1,007,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $37.26 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $33.45 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.26%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 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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