Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 502,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,714 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Avista were worth $19,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,381,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Avista by 8.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 519,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,659,000 after buying an additional 38,651 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Avista by 50.4% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 288,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,897,000 after buying an additional 96,532 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Avista by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 343,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,257,000 after buying an additional 172,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Avista during the third quarter worth $7,014,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $40.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.