Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 172,330 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. doubled its stake in Avista (NYSE:AVA), buying 172,330 shares in Q4 to hold 343,989 shares (about 0.42% of the company) valued at roughly $13.26 million.
• Several sell-side firms have trimmed targets or downgraded AVA recently and the consensus rating is a Hold with a $39.50 price target.
• Avista raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4925 (annualized $1.97), a ~4.9% yield, though the dividend payout ratio is high at about 82.8%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 100.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 343,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 172,330 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.42% of Avista worth $13,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Avista by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Avista by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,924,000 after buying an additional 6,967 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 26.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 283,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,857,000 after buying an additional 58,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AVA shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Avista from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Avista from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Avista presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $39.90 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $40.68 and its 200-day moving average is $39.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter. Avista had a net margin of 9.83% and a return on equity of 7.29%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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