Convergence Investment Partners LLC Boosts Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 286 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Avista worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Avista by 54.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Avista by 252.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Avista in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Avista in the first quarter worth about $102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Avista Price Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $39.14 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.08 and a 200 day moving average of $38.12. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $400.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 88.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AVA. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

Avista 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.