7,916 Shares in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Acquired by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVA. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 8,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Avista by 296.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Avista by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 54,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Avista by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 439,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,105,000 after purchasing an additional 19,153 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE AVA traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.40. 1,811,506 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 616,899. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.45 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.45. 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 company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.41.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.07). Avista had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business had revenue of $603.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Avista's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.24%. Avista's payout ratio is 83.76%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.82, for a total value of $38,727.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,515 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

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.