Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Stake Boosted by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 129,436.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 38,831 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in Avista were worth $1,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 3.3% during 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,967,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $108,687,000 after acquiring an additional 53,222 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,016,000 after acquiring an additional 274,270 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Avista by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,025,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,548,000 after acquiring an additional 79,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,139,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $38,727.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Up 0.5%

AVA traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $37.49. 533,613 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,955. The company's 50 day moving average is $37.77 and its 200-day moving average is $38.69. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.40. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.80 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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

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.