Avista (NYSE:AVA) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyAvista Corporation (NYSE:AVA – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $34.50 and last traded at $35.1220, with a volume of 593901 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.79.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AVA. Weiss Ratings lowered Avista from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Avista
Avista Price Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.23.
Avista (NYSE:AVA – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $426.93 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.
Avista Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.12%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Avista news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,358.16. This trade represents a 35.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Avista
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Avista by 4.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Avista by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Avista by 7.4% in the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Avista by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Avista by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 22,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.
About Avista
Avista Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its Avista Utilities subsidiary, the company generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Avista Utilities serves communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, with natural gas operations also extending into parts of Oregon. The company’s energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, thermal and renewable generation resources, supported by transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Avista also operates Alaska Electric Light & Power Company, which provides electric service to customers in Juneau, Alaska.