Avista (NYSE:AVA) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Avista (NYSE:AVA) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Separately, Guggenheim raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Avista Stock Performance

Avista stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $37.30. 514,268 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,379. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.35. Avista has a twelve month low of $30.53 and a twelve month high of $44.76. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.09). Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $594.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Avista will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVA. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Avista by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 156,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,080,000 after buying an additional 30,540 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Avista by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Avista by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 10,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Avista by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 4,850 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Avista

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.