With an 85% stake, Avista Corporation (NYSE: AVA) enjoys strong institutional support

If you want to know who actually controls Avista Corporation (NYSE: AVA), you’ll need to look at the composition of its share register. With 85% of the capital, the institutions own the maximum number of shares in the company. In other words, the group is likely to gain the most (or lose the most) from its investment in the business.

Since institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investment decisions tend to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a business is often considered a desirable trait.

In the table below, we zoom in on the different Avista property groups.

See our latest review for Avista

What does institutional ownership tell us about Avista?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it is included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions listed, especially if they are growing.

Avista already has institutions on the share register. Indeed, they hold a respectable stake in the company. This implies that analysts working for these institutions have reviewed the stock and like it. But like everyone else, they can be wrong. If multiple institutions change their minds on a stock at the same time, you could see the stock price drop quickly. So it’s worth checking out Avista’s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Since institutional investors own more than half of the issued shares, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Avista does not belong to hedge funds. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 18% of shares outstanding. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the second-largest shareholder, owning 12% of the common stock, and the Public Sector Retirement Investment Board owns about 4.8% of the company’s stock.

We also observed that the top 9 shareholders represent more than half of the share register, with some small shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to some extent.

While it makes sense to study data on a company’s institutional ownership, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiment to find out which way the wind is blowing. A number of analysts cover the stock, so you can look at growth forecasts quite easily.

Avista Insider Ownership

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing at least board members. The management of the company runs the company, but the CEO will answer to the board of directors, even if he is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, there are times when it is more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Avista Corporation. It’s a fairly large company, so it would be possible for board members to hold a significant stake in the company, without holding much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own about $28 million worth of stock (at today’s prices). It’s good to see board members owning stock, but it can be helpful to check whether those insiders have bought.

General public property

The general public, including retail investors, owns 15% of the company’s capital and therefore cannot be easily ignored. This size of ownership, although considerable, may not be sufficient to change company policy if the decision is not in line with other major shareholders.

Next steps:

It is always useful to think about the different groups that own shares in a company. But to better understand Avista, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we have identified 4 warning signs for Avista (1 should not be ignored) which you should be aware of.

If you prefer to find out what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, don’t miss this free analyst forecast report.

NB: The figures in this article are calculated using trailing twelve month data, which refers to the 12 month period ending on the last day of the month the financial statements are dated. This may not be consistent with the annual report figures for the full year.

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This Simply Wall St article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell stocks and does not take into account your objectives or financial situation. Our goal is to bring you targeted long-term analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest announcements from price-sensitive companies or qualitative materials. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.