Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target Lowered to $39.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $40.00 to $39.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.88% from the stock’s previous close.

Avista Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE AVA traded down $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.49. The stock had a trading volume of 443,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,069. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.49. Avista has a twelve month low of $31.91 and a twelve month high of $39.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.70.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.29 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Avista in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Avista by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Avista by 309.3% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Avista by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Avista

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.