Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 424,910 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 98.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 424,910 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Avista were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $433,782,000 after purchasing an additional 99,365 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,382,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,871,000 after purchasing an additional 103,844 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Avista by 531.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,383,000 after buying an additional 1,153,389 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,042,000 after buying an additional 13,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Avista by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,941,000 after buying an additional 18,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,108.95. This represents a 58.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AVA stock opened at $41.08 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.01 and a 200-day moving average of $38.00.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Avista to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on Avista in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.33.

Avista 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.