Avista (NYSE:AVA) Hits New 52-Week High at $39.82

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $39.82 and last traded at $39.63, with a volume of 87913 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avista has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Avista Trading Down 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $594.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $61,557.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total value of $61,557.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $61,261.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,897.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,916 shares of company stock worth $215,268. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter worth about $18,988,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Avista by 95.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 709,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,365,000 after buying an additional 346,540 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,506,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Avista by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,904,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,701,000 after buying an additional 174,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter worth about $4,960,000. 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.