Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Takes $1.66 Million Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 41,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,658,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Avista by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,933,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $421,382,000 after purchasing an additional 98,220 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Avista by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,305,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $204,465,000 after buying an additional 45,696 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avista by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,985,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,550,000 after buying an additional 7,793 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,807,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,657,000 after buying an additional 257,834 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,516,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,860,000 after buying an additional 4,958 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $65,281.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at $431,150.58. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVA. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Barclays raised their target price on Avista from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

Avista Stock Performance

AVA opened at $40.50 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.55 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.Avista’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s payout ratio is 78.49%.

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.