Avista Corporation $AVA Stock Position Reduced by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lessened its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 15.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 424,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 74,906 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Avista were worth $16,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 54.8% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Avista during the first quarter worth about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 48.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 51.7% in 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 during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $38.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $34.80 and a one year high of $43.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.02.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 83.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AVA. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.