denkapparat Operations GmbH Invests $336,000 in Avista Corporation $AVA

denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,360,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $433,782,000 after buying an additional 99,365 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,382,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,871,000 after acquiring an additional 103,844 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avista by 531.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153,389 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Avista by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,042,000 after purchasing an additional 13,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,941,000 after buying an additional 18,216 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avista Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $41.69 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.83 and its 200 day moving average is $37.97. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.80 and a 52-week high of $43.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%.The business had revenue of $403.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $402.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Avista to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.33.

Insider Activity

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox purchased 3,671 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $50,196.24. Following the transaction, the vice president 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. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.