Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Decreases Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL cut its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,248 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned approximately 0.36% of Avista worth $11,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Avista by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Avista by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $41.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.23. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $43.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 82.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVA. Zacks Research downgraded Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Avista in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Avista from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation operates as an integrated energy company providing electric and natural gas delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest. Through its regulated utility operations, the company maintains and upgrades an extensive transmission and distribution network, delivering reliable energy to approximately 400,000 electric customers and 324,000 natural gas customers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its core utility business, Avista invests in owned generation assets, including hydroelectric, natural gas–fired, coal and wind facilities, to support system reliability and long-term supply planning.

Founded in 1889 as the Spokane and Inland Empire Water Power Company, the business adopted the Avista name in 1999 to reflect its growing energy portfolio and strategic focus on innovation.