Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Shares Acquired by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,406 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Avista worth $1,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,855,000 after acquiring an additional 327,535 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Avista by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,283,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,016,000 after purchasing an additional 274,270 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,908,000 after purchasing an additional 24,981 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Avista by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,401,000 after purchasing an additional 168,648 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AVA traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $37.51. The company had a trading volume of 974,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 613,464. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.45 and a 1 year high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.41. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $39.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.45.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Avista had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors 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 5.23%. Avista's payout ratio is currently 83.76%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total transaction of $38,727.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,497.30. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.