Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Avista Corporation $AVA

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 39,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,631,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Avista by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new position in Avista during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 619.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

AVA stock opened at $39.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 71.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AVA. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research raised Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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.