Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 223.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,421 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Avista in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Avista by 54.8% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Avista by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total value of $69,150.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,867.42. This trade represents a 15.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Down 0.2%

Avista stock opened at $40.08 on Wednesday. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.47 and a 52 week high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.40%.

About Avista

Avista Corporation operates as an integrated energy company providing electric and natural gas delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest. Through its regulated utility operations, the company maintains and upgrades an extensive transmission and distribution network, delivering reliable energy to approximately 400,000 electric customers and 324,000 natural gas customers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its core utility business, Avista invests in owned generation assets, including hydroelectric, natural gas–fired, coal and wind facilities, to support system reliability and long-term supply planning.

Founded in 1889 as the Spokane and Inland Empire Water Power Company, the business adopted the Avista name in 1999 to reflect its growing energy portfolio and strategic focus on innovation.