Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment 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.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,334 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Avista by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Avista by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 7.4% in the second 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 lifted its stake in Avista by 22.1% in the first 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. boosted its position in Avista by 2.7% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 22,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Price Performance

AVA stock opened at $36.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Avista has a one year low of $34.46 and a one year high of $43.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.60.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Avista will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. Avista’s dividend 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 generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Avista Utilities serves communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, with natural gas operations also extending into parts of Oregon. The company’s energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, thermal and renewable generation resources, supported by transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Avista also operates Alaska Electric Light & Power Company, which provides electric service to customers in Juneau, Alaska.