Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Sold by Algert Global LLC

Key Points

• Algert Global LLC decreased its holdings in Avista Corporation by 16.9%, selling 10,910 shares and now owning about 53,805 shares valued at $2,253,000.
• Avista's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.17, missing estimates by $0.11, with revenues at $400 million compared to a $416 million forecast.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49, yielding 5.4% annually, and the dividend payout ratio stands at 88.29%.

Algert Global LLC lessened its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,805 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,910 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC owned about 0.07% of Avista worth $2,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $790,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,289,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Avista by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 50,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 14,919 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $38,727.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 561,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,629. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.40. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.29%.

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.