Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $1.45 Million Investment in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Avista, buying 36,100 shares valued at about $1.45 million in the first quarter.
• Avista reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.10 per share, but revenue came in below estimates at $570 million and fell 8% year over year.
• The utility declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 4.8%; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,449,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 5.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avista by 11.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 6,967 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Avista in the first quarter valued at about $201,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Avista by 26.0% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 58,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth about $134,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE:AVA opened at $41.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.56. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $43.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.25.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The firm had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. 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. Analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Avista in a 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Avista in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avista from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

About Avista

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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