Jennison Associates LLC Has $927,000 Stock Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 48.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,927 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 54.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 252.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter worth about $102,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox bought 3,671 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,108.95. The trade was a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $308,227.68. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on AVA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Avista Price Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $38.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.04. Avista Corporation has a 12-month low of $34.80 and a 12-month high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.06 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Avista’s payout ratio is 88.29%.

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.