Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 14,022 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 472,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,022 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.57% of Avista worth $18,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Avista by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Avista by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on Avista from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $42.02 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $35.50 and a twelve month high of $43.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.34 and its 200 day moving average is $40.90.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.55 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $65,281.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

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.