Avista (NYSE:AVA) Hits New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $34.50 and last traded at $35.1220, with a volume of 593901 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avista from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.25.

Avista Price Performance

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 50 day simple moving average of $38.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.25.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. The business's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the business'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 owned 8,334 shares in the company, valued at $310,358.16. The trade was a 35.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 319,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,295,000 after acquiring an additional 30,817 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 184.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 56,881 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 36,866 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,631,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,189,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,331,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avista Company Profile

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.

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