StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Avista (NYSE:AVA)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Avista (NYSE:AVA – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AVA. TheStreet raised shares of Avista from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Mizuho downgraded shares of Avista from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 9th.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $41.52 on Thursday. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $35.72 and a fifty-two week high of $46.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.66. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Avista (NYSE:AVA – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.33. Avista had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 6.87%. The firm had revenue of $496.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $371.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 16th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.79%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP Bryan Alden Cox sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.30, for a total value of $104,984.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,027.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth $1,986,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 339,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,560,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 129,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,803,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Avista by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 172.3% during the 3rd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 65,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 41,283 shares during the period. 82.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Avista

(Get Rating)

Avista Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of electric and natural gas utility business. It operates through the Avista Utilities, and Alaska Electric Light and Power Company (AEL&P) segments. The Avista Utilities segment includes electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, and Northeastern and Southwestern Oregon.