Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 498,318 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 983.2% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 98,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,088,000 after buying an additional 89,542 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Avista by 48.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 35,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 11,489 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Avista during the first quarter worth approximately $331,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Avista by 39.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 243,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,176,000 after purchasing an additional 68,394 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Avista

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Avista presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

Avista Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $37.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.39. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.26. 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 (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.The firm had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.06 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.29%.

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.