475,814 Shares in Avista Corporation $AVA Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVAFree Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 475,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,466,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.57% of Avista as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth approximately $1,617,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 739,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,262,000 after acquiring an additional 100,918 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,661,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,903,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $86,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Stock Performance

AVA stock opened at $37.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.67. Avista Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $43.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.25.

Avista (NYSE:AVAGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVA. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Avista

Avista Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVAFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Avista (NYSE:AVA)

Receive News & Ratings for Avista Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Avista and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.