Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,800,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the May 31st total of 2,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 445,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $61,261.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,897.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $61,261.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,196 shares in the company, valued at $256,897.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,916 shares of company stock valued at $215,268. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avista

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Avista during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Avista by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of Avista by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter worth about $73,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho raised Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE AVA traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.88. 201,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,593. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.06 and its 200-day moving average is $34.96. Avista has a 1 year low of $30.53 and a 1 year high of $40.13.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 9.96%. The firm had revenue of $594.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.84%.

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.