Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 134,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,654 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.17% of Avista worth $5,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter valued at about $561,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter worth about $1,007,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Avista by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 4,009 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 168.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AVA traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $37.54. 186,876 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 622,380. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.80 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $38.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.60.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's payout ratio 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.