Vise Technologies Inc. Buys Shares of 6,854 Avista Corporation $AVA

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 54.8% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Avista during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Avista by 48.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Avista by 51.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $40.95 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.00. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.80 and a 52 week high of $43.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Avista’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 83.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.33.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox bought 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,108.95. This represents a 58.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Avista

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.