Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA – Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.25.
AVA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings cut Avista from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th.
Insider Activity
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Avista by 56.5% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 10,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 3,823 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Avista by 47.9% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Avista by 75.5% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position 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. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at about $259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.
Avista Stock Performance
Avista stock opened at $35.18 on Friday. Avista has a twelve month low of $34.66 and a twelve month high of $43.50. 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 capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.37 and its 200 day moving average is $40.01.
Avista (NYSE:AVA – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avista will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Avista Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 71.12%.
About Avista
Avista Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Spokane, Washington, operating primarily through its regulated utility businesses. Its principal subsidiary, Avista Utilities, provides electric and natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Avista Utilities operates electric and natural gas systems in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, as well as parts of Oregon. Through Alaska Electric Light & Power Company, Avista also provides electric service in Juneau, Alaska.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Avista
- Costco Ends Its Fiscal Year on a High Note, Eyes Big Expansion
- Cracker Barrel Stock Is Rallying Again, But the Turnaround Still Has a Traffic Problem
- Oracle’s Force Majeure Notice Exposes a Bigger Problem for the AI Build-Out
- Oil May Be Stronger Than It Looks—And Diamondback Is on Sale
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.
