Avista (NYSE:AVA) SVP Wayne Manuel Sells 1,785 Shares of Stock

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) SVP Wayne Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,867.42. This trade represents a 15.30% 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 hyperlink.

Avista Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AVA opened at $38.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.03. Avista Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.80 and a 52 week high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 9.62%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Avista by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Avista during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AVA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.33.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.