Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Purchased by Invenomic Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Invenomic Capital Management increased its Avista stake by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 50,410 additional shares and bringing its total to 235,920 shares worth about $9.1 million.
• Avista has seen strong institutional interest overall, with several large funds significantly boosting holdings; 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• The utility reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.10, but revenue came in below estimates and was down 8% year over year; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $39.75.

Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,920 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 50,410 shares during the quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP owned about 0.29% of Avista worth $9,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,003,362 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,137,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,829,000 after acquiring an additional 582,742 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Avista by 37,219.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 541,136 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,855,000 after acquiring an additional 539,686 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Avista by 1,723.9% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 442,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,728,000 after acquiring an additional 418,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 398,446 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $65,281.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Avista from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Avista from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.75.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $39.37 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.90. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $43.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.24.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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