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

Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 306,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,855 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $11,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Avista by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Avista by 619.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Avista by 171.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avista Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AVA opened at $42.48 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.46. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The business’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, analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

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.