Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 1,852 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,852 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of Avista worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Avista by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $433,782,000 after buying an additional 99,365 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,382,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,871,000 after acquiring an additional 103,844 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Avista by 531.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153,389 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,042,000 after acquiring an additional 13,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Avista by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,941,000 after acquiring an additional 18,216 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at $355,108.95. This represents a 58.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $40.81 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.52 and a 200-day moving average of $38.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.80 and a 12 month high of $43.09.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $403.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.50 million. Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.Avista’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.