Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Shares Bought by Buck Wealth Strategies LLC

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 11,309 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Avista worth $5,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 2.0% in the fourth 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. raised its stake in Avista by 34.7% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Avista by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,610,000 after purchasing an additional 147,007 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 327,535 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter worth about $561,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Trading Up 1.9%

AVA stock traded up $0.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.15. 499,083 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 616,428. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.46. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.45 and a 1 year high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.41.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 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 firm had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Avista's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders 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 5.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.