Wesbanco Bank Inc. Increases Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 34.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. owned 0.05% of Avista worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,908,000 after acquiring an additional 24,981 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,610,000 after purchasing an additional 147,007 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Avista by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,855,000 after acquiring an additional 327,535 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter valued at $561,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter worth $1,007,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Avista stock traded down $0.59 on Friday, hitting $37.28. The stock had a trading volume of 592,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 608,850. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $33.45 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.68 and a 200 day moving average of $38.49.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 11,515 shares in the company, valued at $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.