Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases 16,369 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Avista Corporation by 6.1% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.35% of the company worth $11.9 million.
• Avista's most recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.17, missing estimates by $0.11, and revenue of $400 million compared to expectations of $416.06 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.3%, with a payout ratio currently at 88.29%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285,127 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,369 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.35% of Avista worth $11,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter worth $43,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter valued at $102,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth $222,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Avista stock traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $37.19. The stock had a trading volume of 210,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,950. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $37.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.77. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $34.80 and a one year high of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $400.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.06 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 88.29%.

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.