ClearAlpha Technologies LP Takes $1.10 Million Position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

ClearAlpha Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 28,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,095,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,633 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Avista in the third quarter valued at $229,000. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in Avista by 10.0% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 110,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,295,000 after acquiring an additional 10,113 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 4.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 211,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,186,000 after acquiring an additional 8,610 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $697,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avista Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AVA opened at $38.69 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.47. Avista Co. has a 12-month low of $31.91 and a 12-month high of $39.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s payout ratio is 75.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock.

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.