EntryPoint Capital LLC Makes New $73,000 Investment in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $935,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Avista by 140.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 92,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 53,983 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth $2,841,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Avista by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,539,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,519,000 after buying an additional 26,454 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,526,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $340,460,000 after purchasing an additional 96,642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.1 %

AVA stock opened at $39.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.46. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $30.53 and a twelve month high of $39.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $594.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.34 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. Avista’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AVA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho raised shares of Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $61,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at $401,387.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,071.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total value of $61,557.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,916 shares of company stock valued at $215,268. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.