Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Grows Stake in Avista Corporation $AVA

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,067 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned 0.09% of Avista worth $2,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 51.7% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 30.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $382,867.42. The trade was a 15.30% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVA shares. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on shares of Avista in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $39.99 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.28. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 82.77%.

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.