Invenomic Capital Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Invenomic Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 16.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 275,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 54,842 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP’s holdings in Avista were worth $10,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,076,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,130,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth about $6,506,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth $5,638,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,838,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $38.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.48. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.34. Avista Co. has a 1-year low of $31.91 and a 1-year high of $39.99.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Bank of America assumed coverage on Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company.

Avista Company 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.