Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Acquired by GSA Capital Partners LLP

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in Avista by 570.3% in the fourth quarter, while several other institutional investors also increased their holdings. Overall, institutional ownership stands at 85.24% of the stock.
• Avista reported quarterly EPS of $1.10, beating analyst expectations of $1.04, though revenue came in below estimates at $570 million and fell 8.0% year over year. The company also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of 2.520-2.720.
• The utility declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, or $1.97 annualized, for a yield of about 4.8%. Meanwhile, analyst sentiment remains cautious, with an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $40.00.

GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 570.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,265 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned approximately 0.09% of Avista worth $2,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 698.6% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 185,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,150,000 after acquiring an additional 162,300 shares during the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 16,970 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Avista by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 507,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,551,000 after acquiring an additional 95,060 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 458,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,663,000 after acquiring an additional 37,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter valued at about $382,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avista from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

Avista Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE AVA opened at $41.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.28.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $643.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The firm'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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Avista's payout ratio is 78.49%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,916 shares of company stock valued at $158,408 in the last quarter. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.