Avista (NYSE:AVA) Upgraded to “Neutral” at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of Avista (NYSE:AVA) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $36.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $32.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AVA. StockNews.com lowered shares of Avista from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Avista from a sell rating to a neutral rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $35.00.

Avista Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AVA opened at $37.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.48. Avista has a 12 month low of $30.53 and a 12 month high of $44.76.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $594.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 9.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Avista will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 78.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the first quarter worth approximately $470,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in Avista by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 67,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,371,000 after buying an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 9,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Avista by 140.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 92,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 53,983 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Company Profile

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.