Sound Income Strategies LLC Buys Shares of 183,688 Avista Corporation $AVA

Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 183,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,381,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Avista as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in Avista by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 12,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Avista by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 21,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter valued at $798,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter valued at $1,086,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $337,552.18. This represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on AVA shares. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Zacks Research lowered Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Avista from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Avista Trading Down 0.9%

AVA opened at $40.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Avista Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.60.

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

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.77%.

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.