Invenomic Capital Management LP Increases Stake in Avista Corporation $AVA

Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 235,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,410 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP’s holdings in Avista were worth $9,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Avista by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Avista by 619.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $39.37 on Thursday. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.24.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. 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. Equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Avista from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avista has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.75.

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.