Comerica Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Comerica Bank cut its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,604 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.06% of Avista worth $1,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AVA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 252.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 665,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,032. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.40 and a 200-day moving average of $38.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.80 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $400.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.29%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the company'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 transaction of $38,727.68. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Avista 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.