Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Purchases 95,060 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 507,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 95,060 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Avista were worth $19,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,933,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $421,382,000 after purchasing an additional 98,220 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Avista by 8.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,191,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,032,000 after purchasing an additional 398,446 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Avista by 0.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,567 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Avista by 359.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,282,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,362 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 12.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,084,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,989,000 after purchasing an additional 117,385 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Mizuho increased their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,552.18. This represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,916 shares of company stock worth $158,408. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Avista stock opened at $41.21 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.28. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $43.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.49%.

Avista Profile

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.