Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,338 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Avista were worth $1,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Avista by 368.8% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 56,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 44,518 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Avista by 0.6% during the second quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 49,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,883,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Avista by 54.8% during 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. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Avista by 4.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 345,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,122,000 after buying an additional 14,613 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 9,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Price Performance

AVA opened at $38.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.97. Avista Corporation has a 12-month low of $34.80 and a 12-month high of $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $416.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

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.