Magellan Asset Management Ltd Raises Stake in Avista Corporation $AVA

Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 29.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,374 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Avista were worth $2,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,381,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Avista by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 343,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,257,000 after acquiring an additional 172,330 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 319,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,295,000 after purchasing an additional 30,817 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Avista by 184.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 56,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 36,866 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $65,281.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Avista stock opened at $41.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.84.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Avista from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.