Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 10,527 Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Avista Corporation by 33.6%, acquiring an additional 10,527 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately $1.75 million.
• Avista's stock is currently trading down 4.0%, with a market cap of $2.96 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.69, reflecting a challenging financial outlook after missing earnings estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.3%, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders despite recent performance challenges.

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,527 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.05% of Avista worth $1,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 2,474.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Avista by 252.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter valued at about $215,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Vision Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avista Trading Up 1.8%

AVA traded up $0.65 on Thursday, hitting $37.32. 934,551 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 725,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.00. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.40.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 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 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 last year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of Avista 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.