Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 226,082 Shares of Avista Corporation $AVA

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 56.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 226,082 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.21% of Avista worth $6,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Avista by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Avista by 48.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 51.7% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVA. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on shares of Avista in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.33.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,867.42. This represents a 15.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $37.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Avista Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.80 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.03.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 9.62%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Avista’s payout ratio is 83.40%.

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.