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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,934 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Avista by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Avista by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 5,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Avista by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Avista by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 24,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Trading Down 0.1%

AVA traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.39. 408,566 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 579,694. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.80 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $400.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.29%.

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.