Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $2.96 Million Stock Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 29.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,042 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Avista were worth $2,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 40,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,692,000 after buying an additional 10,400 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter valued at $246,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the period. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 40,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 1.9% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Performance

AVA stock opened at $37.93 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.72 and its 200-day moving average is $38.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $33.45 and a twelve month high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.30 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.76%.

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.