Vise Technologies Inc. Purchases Shares of 17,652 Avista Corporation $AVA

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Avista by 5.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 6,967 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Avista by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 283,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,857,000 after purchasing an additional 58,504 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.25.

Avista Price Performance

Avista stock opened at $37.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.25. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $43.50. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.81.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Avista’s payout ratio is 71.12%.

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.