Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 136.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,638 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.06% of Avista worth $1,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Avista by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Avista by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 137,767 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,046,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 11,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Avista by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.40. 1,811,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 616,899. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $39.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.45 and a 1 year high of $43.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.41.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.76%.

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.