Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Acquires 11,309 Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,309 shares during the quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC owned 0.16% of Avista worth $5,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Avista by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,908,000 after buying an additional 24,981 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 34.7% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Avista by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,610,000 after acquiring an additional 147,007 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,855,000 after acquiring an additional 327,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Down 1.2%

AVA stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.57. The company had a trading volume of 579,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,794. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.45 and a 52 week high of $43.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.45. 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 (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related 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 in the company, valued at approximately $435,497.30. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.