Corient Private Wealth LP Makes New Investment in Avista Corporation $AVA

Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 49,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Avista by 90.7% during the fourth 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. Bayban acquired a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Avista in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Avista in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVA shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.25.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $37.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.25. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.00 and a 200-day moving average of $40.57.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $426.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joshua D. Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,358.16. This trade represents a 35.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Avista Company 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.