Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $5.94 Million Stake in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. has reduced its stake in Avista Corporation by 43.0%, currently owning approximately $5.94 million in shares after selling over 107,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Avista reported a miss on earnings with an EPS of $0.17 compared to the expected $0.28, and its revenue also fell short at $400 million against a consensus estimate of $416 million.
• Avista announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, yielding 5.3%, with a payout ratio of 88.29% based on the latest financials.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 43.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 141,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 107,093 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.18% of Avista worth $5,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 243,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,176,000 after buying an additional 68,394 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avista by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 285,127 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,938,000 after buying an additional 16,369 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,126,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:AVA opened at $37.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $37.65 and its 200 day moving average is $38.79. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%. The company had revenue of $400.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Avista's payout ratio is presently 88.29%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $38,727.68. Following the sale, the vice president owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.94% of the stock is owned by 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.

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