Demars Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Demars Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 682,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 108,072 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC owned approximately 0.85% of Avista worth $28,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,139,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Avista by 3.3% in 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Avista by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,016,000 after acquiring an additional 274,270 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its position in Avista by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,726,000 after purchasing an additional 222,500 shares during the period. Finally, ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,960,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now owns 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Avista stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $37.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,811,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 618,237. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $39.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.44. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.45 and a 1 year high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Avista had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.76%.

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.