Vise Technologies Inc. Makes New $722,000 Investment in Avista Corporation $AVA

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 17,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVA. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Avista by 5.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Avista by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 6,967 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Avista in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Avista by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 283,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,857,000 after purchasing an additional 58,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter valued at $134,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AVA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.25.

Avista Stock Up 0.1%

AVA stock opened at $37.62 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $35.50 and a twelve month high of $43.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.42 and its 200-day moving average is $40.81.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.Avista’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 71.12%.

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.