Rhumbline Advisers Increases Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 251,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,820 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.31% of Avista worth $9,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AVA. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Avista by 9.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 5.2% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 50,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 14,919 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Avista during the first quarter valued at approximately $390,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 41,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 10,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $40.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.02. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.80 and a 52-week high of $43.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share 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%.The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. Avista’s payout ratio is 83.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Avista to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Avista presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista 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.