Avista (NYSE:AVA) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $43.09 and last traded at $42.35, with a volume of 1076541 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Avista Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. Equities research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Avista’s payout ratio is 86.34%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 2,474.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 117.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Avista by 296.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Avista by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.