Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 356,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 86,145 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Avista were worth $13,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,669,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 8.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 519,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,659,000 after purchasing an additional 38,651 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the third quarter valued at about $1,118,000. Nuance Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 50.4% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 288,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,897,000 after buying an additional 96,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth about $1,745,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total value of $69,150.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $382,867.42. This trade represents a 15.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AVA shares. Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on Avista in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.33.

Avista Stock Up 0.7%

AVA opened at $40.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.77%.

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.