Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Avista Corporation by 1.0% in Q1, owning approximately 12.90% of the company, valued at $433.78 million.
• Avista reported a loss in earnings for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $0.17 compared to the estimate of $0.28, and revenue of $400 million below the expected $416.06 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.3%, to be paid on September 15th.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 99,365 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.90% of Avista worth $433,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the first quarter worth $331,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the first quarter worth $790,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 34.7% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Avista in the first quarter worth $2,289,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Avista in the first quarter worth $2,115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Avista stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.31. 79,873 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 737,204. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.80 and a 52-week high of $43.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $37.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.79.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $400.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.06 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,497.30. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

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.