Insider Selling: Avista (NYSE:AVA) SVP Sells $71,038.24 in Stock

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Avista Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:AVA opened at $40.65 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.28. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.13). Avista had a net margin of 9.83% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of ($87.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Avista during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVA. Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

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.