Inspire Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 37.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 21,104 shares during the period. Avista makes up approximately 0.4% of Inspire Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Inspire Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Avista worth $3,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Avista by 5.2% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the first quarter worth about $2,115,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Avista by 9.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 8.5% during the first quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 49,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,065,000 after buying an additional 3,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 70.2% during the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 30,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,266,000 after buying an additional 12,465 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $37.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.40. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $34.80 and a one year high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.28%. Avista's payout ratio is currently 83.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista 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 value of $38,727.68. Following the sale, the vice president owned 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.

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