Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $2.37 Million in Avista Corporation $AVA

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 57,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,367,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the second quarter worth approximately $3,873,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Avista in the second quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $722,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $453,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $434,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $37.95 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.78. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.25.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. Avista had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AVA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.25.

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.