Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 452,975 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 13,295 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Avista worth $18,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,855,000 after acquiring an additional 327,535 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 53,222 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Avista by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,016,000 after purchasing an additional 274,270 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,908,000 after buying an additional 24,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,025,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,548,000 after buying an additional 79,576 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.06. 400,698 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 623,458. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.40. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.80 and a 1 year high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The company had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid 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 dividend yield of 5.15%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.76%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 11,515 shares in the company, valued at $435,497.30. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.96% 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.