Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Wall Street analysts rate Avista “Hold.” All seven covering analysts have hold-equivalent ratings, with an average 12-month price target of $38.75; Barclays recently lowered its target to $35.
• Avista shares opened at $36.20 and are near the lower end of their 52-week range of $34.46 to $43.50. The utility reported quarterly EPS of $0.43, beating estimates of $0.23, while revenue of $413 million fell short of expectations.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.97 dividend and a 5.4% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 85.24% of Avista’s stock.

Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.75.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Avista from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avista from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday.

Avista Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of AVA stock opened at $36.20 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $36.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 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.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $426.93 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Avista will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Avista's payout ratio is currently 71.12%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista 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 value of $174,097.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

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

About Avista

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.

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