Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Shares Acquired by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 21,654 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Avista worth $5,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 2,474.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Avista by 252.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Avista by 168.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 sale, the vice president owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Down 0.8%

AVA traded down $0.29 on Friday, reaching $37.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 837,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,589. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.80 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.40.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced 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). 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 analyst estimates of $636.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.76%.

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.