Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Short Interest Update

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,950,000 shares, a growth of 8.1% from the December 15th total of 2,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 498,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Avista in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avista presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.75.

Avista Stock Up 0.6 %

AVA stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $37.27. 434,591 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,163. Avista has a 52 week low of $31.91 and a 52 week high of $39.99. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted 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 company had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Avista’s payout ratio is 75.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Avista during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Avista by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in Avista by 309.3% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Avista by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

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.