Jupiter Topco LLC Acquires New Shares in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco LLC acquired 35,430 Avista shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.45 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.24% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally neutral outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $39.25. Avista recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.43 versus the $0.23 consensus estimate.
• Avista declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.97 payout and a 5.3% yield. Shares opened at $37.46, while a company vice president recently sold 4,675 shares.

Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 35,430 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,449,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Avista by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVA shares. Zacks Research raised Avista from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on 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, Weiss Ratings raised Avista from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.25.

Avista Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $37.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.51. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, VP Joshua D. Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $310,358.16. The trade was a 35.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.78% of the stock is currently 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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