Avista Corporation $AVA Position Cut by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. has reduced its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 2.3%, now owning 411,337 shares worth approximately $17.2 million.
• Avista announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, set to be paid on September 15, with a dividend yield of 5.4%.
• During the last quarter, Avista reported an earnings per share of $0.17, missing expectations, with revenue of $400 million compared to analyst estimates of $416 million.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 411,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,644 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned approximately 0.51% of Avista worth $17,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 5.5% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,934 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 3.2% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Avista by 7.9% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 5,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $308,227.68. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of Avista stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 408,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,222. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.80 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued 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 presently 88.29%.

Avista 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.