JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 86,145 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 356,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,145 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Avista were worth $13,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 60.0% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $337,552.18. This represents 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 this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $39.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.68 and its 200 day moving average is $39.36. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50. 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 company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. 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 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Avista from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

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.