Bryan Alden Cox Sells 1,768 Shares of Avista (NYSE:AVA) Stock

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $40.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.99. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of ($87.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.10 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.83%.

Institutional Trading of Avista

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Avista by 359.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,282,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,362 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth $29,674,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 52.7% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,110,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,101,000 after buying an additional 728,543 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 105.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,137,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,829,000 after acquiring an additional 582,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 37,219.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 541,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,855,000 after acquiring an additional 539,686 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AVA shares. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on Avista in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

Avista Company 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.