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

Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Saturday . The stock traded as high as $41.01 and last traded at $40.90, with a volume of 2423822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Avista Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. Avista’s payout ratio is 86.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,908,000 after buying an additional 24,981 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $561,000. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,340,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.