Avista (NYSE:AVA) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.21 and last traded at $40.16, with a volume of 437613 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.20 and a 200-day moving average of $37.64.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.48 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.34%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This trade represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Avista by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 6,344 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Avista by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $828,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avista by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,295,000 after acquiring an additional 34,829 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Avista in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Avista during the third quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

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.