Picton Mahoney Asset Management Acquires 25,121 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 83,736.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,121 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Avista were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Avista by 51.7% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 30.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Avista by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AVA. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.33.

Avista Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $39.70 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $43.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.08.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter. Avista had a net margin of 9.83% and a return on equity of 7.29%. Analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. This represents a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.