Avista (NYSE:AVA) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Avista (NYSE:AVA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Separately, Guggenheim raised shares of Avista from a sell rating to a neutral rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Avista Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:AVA opened at $37.30 on Thursday. Avista has a 1 year low of $30.53 and a 1 year high of $44.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.48.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $594.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $469.34 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 9.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Avista will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SPC Financial Inc. raised its stake in Avista by 31.4% in the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 9,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Avista by 140.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 92,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 53,983 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Avista by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after buying an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 12,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ purchased a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth $444,000. Hedge funds and other 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.