Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Buys 50,133 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 41.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 170,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 50,133 shares during the period. Avista makes up about 1.2% of Moody Aldrich Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned 0.21% of Avista worth $6,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Avista by 359.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised 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 valued at $16,728,000 after purchasing an additional 418,170 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 398,446 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Avista by 216.5% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 477,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,044,000 after purchasing an additional 326,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,014,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,552.18. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AVA shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Avista Price Performance

AVA opened at $41.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $40.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.23. 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 quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.4925 dividend. This is a boost from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Avista's payout ratio is 82.77%.

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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