LSV Asset Management Has $8.45 Million Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 122.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 120,498 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Avista were worth $8,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $41.47 on Tuesday. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.71 and its 200-day moving average is $40.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $643.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AVA shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction of $65,281.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,916 shares of company stock worth $158,408 over the last quarter. 0.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.