CWA Asset Management Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 41.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 124,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,342 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $4,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Avista by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,835,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,687,000 after purchasing an additional 170,388 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,191,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,032,000 after purchasing an additional 398,446 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 52.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,110,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,101,000 after purchasing an additional 728,543 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,958,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,316,000 after purchasing an additional 46,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Avista by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,967,000 after buying an additional 6,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AVA shares. Barclays began coverage on shares of Avista in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Avista Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $38.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.26. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50.

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

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 82.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, 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 value of $71,038.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avista 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.