Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Buys Shares of 18,879 Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 18,879 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $790,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Avista by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $837,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 137,767 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,046,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Avista by 7.9% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 5,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Avista by 1.9% during the first quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 24,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE AVA traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $37.98. 443,894 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 623,685. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average price is $38.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.40. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.80 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The firm had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.76%.

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.