Avista Corporation $AVA Shares Bought by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 319,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,817 shares during the period. Avista accounts for 1.4% of Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $12,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVA. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 359.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,282,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,362 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 105.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,137,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,829,000 after acquiring an additional 582,742 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 37,219.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 541,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,855,000 after acquiring an additional 539,686 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 1,723.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 442,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,728,000 after acquiring an additional 418,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 8.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,191,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,032,000 after acquiring an additional 398,446 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of Avista 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $42.39 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $43.50. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.41.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The firm had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.