Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target Lowered to $39.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its target price cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $40.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $36.49 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.49. Avista has a 12 month low of $31.91 and a 12 month high of $39.99.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avista will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVA. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 202.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 57,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after purchasing an additional 38,550 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Avista by 9.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,295,000 after acquiring an additional 34,829 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avista by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,328 shares during the last quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,638,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.