Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Increases Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,606 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,781 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned 0.19% of Avista worth $5,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Avista in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Avista by 51.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Avista to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.33.

View Our Latest Analysis on AVA

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,227.68. The trade was a 14.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $41.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company's fifty day moving average price is $38.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.96. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Avista's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.40%.

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.

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