Wall Street Zen Downgrades Avista (NYSE:AVA) to Sell

Avista (NYSE:AVA) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AVA. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Avista presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Avista Stock Down 0.1%

AVA stock opened at $39.90 on Friday. Avista has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.28.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%. Equities analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. This represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Avista by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bayban bought a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

About Avista

Avista Corporation operates as an integrated energy company providing electric and natural gas delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest. Through its regulated utility operations, the company maintains and upgrades an extensive transmission and distribution network, delivering reliable energy to approximately 400,000 electric customers and 324,000 natural gas customers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its core utility business, Avista invests in owned generation assets, including hydroelectric, natural gas–fired, coal and wind facilities, to support system reliability and long-term supply planning.

Founded in 1889 as the Spokane and Inland Empire Water Power Company, the business adopted the Avista name in 1999 to reflect its growing energy portfolio and strategic focus on innovation.