Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 1,622 Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,622 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVA. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter worth about $331,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $790,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,289,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Avista during the first quarter worth approximately $2,115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AVA opened at $37.80 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.64 and its 200-day moving average is $38.75. 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 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.