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

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $36.19 and last traded at $36.2550, with a volume of 79819 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Avista from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Avista Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.11 and its 200 day moving average is $40.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.25.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.Avista’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Avista’s payout ratio 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 stock was sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Avista by 171.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Avista by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

About Avista

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.