Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 42.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,224 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Avista were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in Avista by 2,474.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Avista by 252.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Avista by 168.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter valued at about $176,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:AVA traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $37.98. The stock had a trading volume of 443,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 624,353. 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 50-day moving average of $38.34 and a 200 day moving average of $38.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.40. 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 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). The firm had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. Avista's payout ratio is currently 83.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the company'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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.