New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors cut its Avista stake by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 85,142 shares valued at about $3.28 million. Despite the sale, institutional investors still control a large majority of the stock at 85.24%.
• Avista reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.10 versus the $1.04 estimate, though revenue of $570 million fell short of forecasts and was down 8% year over year. The company also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of 2.52 to 2.72.
• The utility declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, implying an annualized yield of 4.8%. Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,725 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Avista worth $3,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Avista by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 60.0% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Avista by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of Avista stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,916 shares of company stock worth $158,408. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Trading Down 0.0%

AVA stock opened at $41.47 on Tuesday. Avista Corporation has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $43.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $40.71 and its 200 day moving average is $40.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.24.

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. The company had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.Avista's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVA. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avista from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research lowered Avista from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

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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