Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $505,000 Investment in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd has acquired a new stake in Avista Corporation, purchasing 12,070 shares worth approximately $505,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Avista recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.98 for the quarter, missing analysts' estimates of $1.05, while revenues totaled $603 million against an expected $636.3 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, yielding 5.28%, with the annual dividend totaling $1.96.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,070 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 2,474.1% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 252.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Avista stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.06. The stock had a trading volume of 80,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,330. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $37.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.67.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 9.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.