Summit Global Investments Buys New Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 32,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,331,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Avista by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 319,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,295,000 after purchasing an additional 30,817 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Avista by 184.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 56,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,190,000 after buying an additional 36,866 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter worth about $1,146,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 458,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,663,000 after buying an additional 37,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 570.3% during the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 73,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,820,000 after buying an additional 62,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of AVA stock opened at $39.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.81 and its 200-day moving average is $40.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.25. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. Avista had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $426.93 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. Avista’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVA. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.25.

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.