Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV cut its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Avista were worth $96,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Avista by 51.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,227.68. The trade was a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,108.95. The trade was a 58.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.33.

Avista Price Performance

AVA stock opened at $41.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.00. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.80 and a 1 year high of $43.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.94.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Avista’s payout ratio is 83.40%.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.