NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 38,821 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 54.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 38,821 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Avista by 359.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,282,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,492,000 after buying an additional 1,003,362 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 105.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,137,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,829,000 after buying an additional 582,742 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Avista by 37,219.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 541,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,855,000 after buying an additional 539,686 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Avista by 1,723.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 442,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,728,000 after buying an additional 418,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Avista by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,191,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $197,032,000 after buying an additional 398,446 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $42.48 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.30 and a 200-day moving average of $40.46. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $43.50. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.24. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.49%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of Avista 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $431,150.58. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.