LPL Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Avista Corporation by 42.3% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 14,919 shares, bringing its total to 50,210 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Avista reported a missed earnings target for the last quarter, with earnings per share at $0.17 against an expected $0.28, alongside revenue of $400 million compared to analyst estimates of $416 million.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.96 with a dividend yield of 5.3%.

LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 42.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 14,919 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.06% of Avista worth $2,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVA. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,934 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Avista by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 137,767 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,046,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 5,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.9% in the first quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 24,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Avista stock opened at $37.1220 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.40. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.80 and a 52-week high of $43.09. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $37.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.79.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $400.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.06 million. Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders 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 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista's payout ratio is presently 88.29%.

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.

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