Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.75.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Avista from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,358.16. This represents a 35.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Avista by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 22,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE:AVA opened at $36.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.23. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $34.46 and a fifty-two week high of $43.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.55.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. 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 company had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Avista will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 71.12%.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its Avista Utilities subsidiary, the company provides regulated electric and natural gas services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

Avista’s electric operations serve communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, while its natural gas service territory includes portions of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The company’s utility activities include generating, purchasing, transmitting, distributing, and supplying energy, as well as maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services.

The company traces its history to the founding of Washington Water Power in 1889.