Summit Global Investments Takes Position in Avista Corporation $AVA

Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 32,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,331,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Avista by 5.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,741,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avista by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 6,967 shares during the period. 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 boosted its stake in Avista by 26.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 58,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Avista during the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Avista Price Performance

NYSE AVA opened at $39.11 on Friday. 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 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.90. Avista Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $43.50.

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

Avista Dividend Announcement

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

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.