Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Grows Stock Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 83.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,438 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned 0.17% of Avista worth $5,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter worth $7,381,000. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in Avista by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 319,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,295,000 after purchasing an additional 30,817 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Avista by 184.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 56,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,190,000 after buying an additional 36,866 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,146,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Avista by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 458,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,663,000 after buying an additional 37,800 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Avista

Here are the key news stories impacting Avista this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Avista reported second-quarter GAAP earnings of $0.43 per diluted share, up from $0.17 a year earlier and well above the $0.23 consensus estimate. Net income more than doubled to $35 million from $14 million, while first-half earnings rose to $1.54 per share from $1.15. Avista Q2 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed 2026 non-GAAP utility earnings guidance of $2.52 to $2.72 per share, citing disciplined cost control, operational execution and favorable rate-case impacts. The company continues to plan approximately $615 million in 2026 utility capital expenditures. Avista Q2 Results and Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings improvement was driven substantially by gains at Avista’s non-regulated investment businesses, which recovered from losses in 2025. Core utility earnings per share were unchanged year over year at $0.29 in the quarter, making the quality and sustainability of the earnings beat an investor focus.
• Negative Sentiment: The updated full-year EPS range of $2.52 to $2.72 is broad and includes a low end below the $2.60 analyst consensus. Avista also expects investment-related volatility and cannot provide comparable GAAP earnings guidance. Avista Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple wildfires in the Spokane, Washington area reportedly caused extensive damage to Avista’s power grid and service disruptions. Potential repair costs, outages, regulatory scrutiny or liability could pressure near-term cash flow and sentiment. Avista Reports Wildfire Damage
• Negative Sentiment: Year-to-date electric and natural-gas revenues declined because of lower wholesale activity, regulatory adjustments and the departure of a large industrial customer. The company is also evaluating up to $100 million of additional short-term liquidity needs.

Insider Transactions at Avista

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 stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction of $65,281.14. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Avista from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Avista Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of AVA stock opened at $39.62 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.00. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The business’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

About Avista

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.