Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Stake in Avista Corporation $AVA

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) by 1.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,184,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,216 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Avista were worth $44,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Avista by 531.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,370,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153,389 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 8,255.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 504,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 498,318 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the first quarter worth $19,645,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the first quarter valued at $19,252,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Avista in the first quarter valued at $17,391,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVA. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Avista to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.33.

Avista Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE AVA opened at $41.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.00. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $34.80 and a one year high of $43.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.95.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $403.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox acquired 3,671 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $35.55 per share, for a total transaction of $130,504.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 9,989 shares in the company, valued at $355,108.95. This trade represents a 58.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $50,196.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,227.68. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.