Vident Advisory LLC Takes $558,000 Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Avista Corporation, purchasing 13,334 shares valued at approximately $558,000 during the first quarter.
• Avista announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, representing a 5.3% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 88.29%.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.17, falling short of analysts' estimates of $0.28, alongside revenue of $400 million, below the expected $416.06 million.

Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Avista by 83.5% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 56,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 25,854 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 115.6% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 16,701 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 8,954 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Avista by 1.5% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 309,599 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 1.5% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 415,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 498,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $308,227.68. The trade was a 14.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president owned 11,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,497.30. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.2%

AVA traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.20. The company had a trading volume of 482,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,944. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $34.80 and a one year high of $43.09.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.29%.

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.