Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Avista Corporation by 39.2%, owning 243,046 shares valued at approximately $10.18 million.
• Avista Corporation reported earnings of $0.17 per share, missing estimates by $0.11, with revenue of $400 million compared to an expectation of $416.06 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49, reflecting a 5.3% dividend yield and an annual payout ratio of 88.29%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 39.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 243,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 68,394 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.30% of Avista worth $10,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $433,782,000 after purchasing an additional 99,365 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,967,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $108,687,000 after buying an additional 53,222 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,382,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,871,000 after buying an additional 103,844 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,042,000 after buying an additional 13,545 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,025,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,548,000 after buying an additional 79,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 455,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,836. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $37.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.40.

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). Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The business had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Avista's payout ratio is 88.29%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.