Renaissance Technologies LLC Invests $1.21 Million in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,209,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 3.3% in 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. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Avista by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,016,000 after acquiring an additional 274,270 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,908,000 after purchasing an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Avista by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,401,000 after buying an additional 168,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,019,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,332,000 after buying an additional 94,460 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE AVA traded up $0.58 on Friday, reaching $41.81. The company had a trading volume of 539,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,129. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.50 and a 200-day moving average of $38.33. Avista Co. has a 1 year low of $33.45 and a 1 year high of $43.09. 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 (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 86.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.