Kennedy Capital Management LLC Purchases 50,855 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Kennedy Capital Management increased its Avista stake by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 50,855 shares and bringing its total holding to 306,133 shares worth about $11.8 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Avista remains cautious, with an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $40.50; several firms recently nudged targets higher into the $42 range.
• Avista reported better-than-expected EPS of $1.10 for the latest quarter, but revenue missed estimates and fell 8% year over year; the company also pays a quarterly dividend yielding about 4.6%.

Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 306,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 50,855 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.38% of Avista worth $11,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Avista by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 619.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 171.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on Avista in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Avista from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.50.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

Avista Price Performance

Avista stock opened at $42.48 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.30 and a 200-day moving average of $40.46.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.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 firm earned $0.98 EPS. Avista'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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Avista's payout ratio is 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.

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.