Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 6,427 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,427 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Avista worth $8,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $433,782,000 after buying an additional 99,365 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,382,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,871,000 after purchasing an additional 103,844 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 531.2% in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,042,000 after purchasing an additional 13,545 shares during the period. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 682,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,583,000 after buying an additional 108,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AVA opened at $36.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.00. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.80 and a 52 week high of $43.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.62.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.29%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

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

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.