Avista (AVA) Upgraded to “Hold” by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Avista (NYSE:AVA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

According to Zacks, “Avista Corporation is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is its operating division that provides electric service customers and natural gas customers. Its service territory covers in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon. Alaska Energy and Resources Company is an Avista subsidiary that provides retail electric service in the city and borough of Juneau, Alaska, through its subsidiary Alaska Electric Light and Power Company. “

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A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a hold rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Avista in a research report on Friday, February 8th. Williams Capital upgraded Avista from a sell rating to a hold rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, January 4th. ValuEngine downgraded Avista from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, January 11th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Avista from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Avista presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.50.

AVA stock opened at $40.05 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Avista has a one year low of $39.75 and a one year high of $52.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.41.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 7.78%. The company had revenue of $372.22 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Avista will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 21st. This is an increase from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.46%.

In other news, SVP Jason R. Thackston sold 2,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $115,115.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,173.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.34, for a total transaction of $59,405.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,050.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,636 shares of company stock worth $2,070,250. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Avista by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Avista by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 63,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. GWM Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. GWM Advisors LLC now owns 9,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.36% of the company’s stock.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates through 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.

Further Reading: Limitations of the P/E Growth ratio

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