Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Acquired by Odyssean LLC

Odyssean LLC grew its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 97.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,673 shares during the period. Odyssean LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter valued at $8,680,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,449,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter worth $1,129,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter worth $19,466,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter worth $1,617,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, VP Joshua D. Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total value of $174,097.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $310,358.16. The trade was a 35.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Avista Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:AVA opened at $37.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.25. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $426.93 million. Avista had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The firm’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.12%.

Avista Profile

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.