Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stake in Avista Corporation $AVA

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 28.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,195 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 32,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 11,706 shares during the period. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth approximately $223,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Avista by 4.5% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 122,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,911,000 after buying an additional 5,252 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Avista by 60.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 294,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,966,000 after buying an additional 110,454 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter valued at $234,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:AVA opened at $41.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.25. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.35 and a 200 day moving average of $40.93.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s payout ratio is 78.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVA. Zacks Research upgraded Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Avista from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.