Avista Corporation $AVA Position Reduced by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,799 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC owned 0.06% of Avista worth $2,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Avista by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 67,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 7,084 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,209,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,007,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Avista by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 137,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,046,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 24,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 1,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $36.6240 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.77. 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 (NYSE:AVA) last posted 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 company had revenue of $400.00 million during 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 prior year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.29%.

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.