Point72 Asset Management L.P. Has $4.81 Million Stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 23.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,700 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.16% of Avista worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Avista by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Avista by 256.6% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,953 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $37.52. The company had a trading volume of 314,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,471. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $37.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. Avista Co. has a 1-year low of $31.91 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.48.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.75.

About Avista

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.