Ieq Capital LLC Acquires 8,954 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Avista Corporation by 115.6%, acquiring an additional 8,954 shares to own a total of 16,701 shares valued at $699,000.
• Avista reported earnings per share of $0.17 for the latest quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.28, with revenues of $400 million compared to expectations of $416 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, representing a 5.4% yield, to be paid on September 15th to shareholders of record on August 19th.

Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 115.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,701 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,954 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Avista were worth $699,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 66,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 5,650 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,025,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,548,000 after acquiring an additional 79,576 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 53,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 21,692 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,967,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $108,687,000 after acquiring an additional 53,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in Avista by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 64,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,371,000 after buying an additional 7,098 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA traded down $0.32 on Monday, reaching $36.55. The stock had a trading volume of 30,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,826. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.77. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.41.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $308,227.68. The trade was a 14.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.