Trexquant Investment LP Makes New $1.13 Million Investment in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 30,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,134,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,139,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,855,000 after purchasing an additional 327,535 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Avista by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,726,000 after buying an additional 222,500 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth about $7,875,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Avista by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,401,000 after acquiring an additional 168,648 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Performance

AVA traded up $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.17. The stock had a trading volume of 62,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 566,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.00. Avista Co. has a one year low of $33.00 and a one year high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. This is a boost from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

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.