HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC sharply increased its stake in Avista, boosting holdings by 698.6% in the fourth quarter to 185,532 shares worth about $7.15 million.
• Avista’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.10 EPS versus the $1.04 estimate, though quarterly revenue of $570 million came in below forecasts and was down 8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 4.7%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $40.00 price target.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 698.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 162,300 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.23% of Avista worth $7,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Avista by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 6,967 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 26.0% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 58,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on Avista in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $41.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business's 50 day moving average price is $40.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.39. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Avista's payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, 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 approximately $431,150.58. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 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 value of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,916 shares of company stock worth $158,408. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

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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