Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 10,700 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 274,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,700 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $10,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 498,318 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Avista by 983.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 98,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 89,542 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Avista by 48.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 35,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 11,489 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 39.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 243,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,176,000 after buying an additional 68,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth $2,289,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE AVA opened at $41.19 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.80 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 9.13%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other Avista news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $308,227.68. The trade was a 14.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.55 per share, with a total value of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Company Profile

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.