VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires New Shares in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems has acquired a new stake in Avista Corporation, purchasing 25,300 shares valued at approximately $960,000.
• Avista's recent quarterly earnings missed analysts' expectations, reporting $0.17 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.28.
• The company's most recent dividend was $0.49 per share, representing an annual yield of 5.1% with a payout ratio of 88.29%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $960,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Avista by 531.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153,389 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 8,255.8% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $21,117,000 after buying an additional 498,318 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Avista during the first quarter valued at about $19,645,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Avista during the first quarter valued at about $19,252,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Avista during the first quarter valued at about $17,391,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox bought 3,671 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at $355,108.95. This represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Avista in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Avista Trading Down 0.8%

Avista stock opened at $38.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $37.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.80 and a 52 week high of $43.09.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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