Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA – Free Report) shares fell 3% during mid-day trading on Friday after Guggenheim lowered their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $33.00. The stock traded as low as $36.03 and last traded at $37.47. 256,399 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 726,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.64.
Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney purchased 1,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.08 per share, with a total value of $50,380.56. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,257 shares in the company, valued at $50,380.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Avista news, VP James M. Kensok sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total transaction of $32,504.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $653,289.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott J. Kinney bought 1,257 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.08 per share, with a total value of $50,380.56. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 1,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,380.56. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,806 shares of company stock valued at $2,062,843. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the second quarter worth approximately $756,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 1st quarter worth $837,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 235,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,005,000 after buying an additional 6,025 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 7.7% in the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 33,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 2,381 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Avista by 21.4% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,660,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,497,000 after acquiring an additional 292,827 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Avista Price Performance
The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.
Avista (NYSE:AVA – Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $474.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.37 million. Avista had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 6.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.
Avista Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 26th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 25th. Avista’s payout ratio is 98.92%.
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.