Key Points
- Avista VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares at an average price of $37.24, generating $174,097 and reducing his ownership by 35.94% to 8,334 shares.
- Avista reported quarterly earnings of $0.43 per share, beating estimates of $0.23, while revenue of $413 million fell short of the $426.93 million consensus.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925, equivalent to $1.97 annually and a 5.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $39.25 target price.
Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $310,358.16. The trade was a 35.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
Avista Stock Performance
Shares of AVA stock opened at $37.23 on Thursday. Avista Corporation has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $43.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.25.
Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $426.93 million. Avista had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.85%. Avista's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avista Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.
Avista Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.12%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Avista from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Avista from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.25.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Avista
Institutional Trading of Avista
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Avista in the second quarter valued at about $605,448,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,933,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $421,382,000 after buying an additional 98,220 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Avista by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,305,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $204,465,000 after buying an additional 45,696 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Avista by 3,930.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,841,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,165,000 after buying an additional 3,746,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,985,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,550,000 after buying an additional 7,793 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Avista
(
Get Free Report)
Avista Corporation operates as an integrated energy company providing electric and natural gas delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest. Through its regulated utility operations, the company maintains and upgrades an extensive transmission and distribution network, delivering reliable energy to approximately 400,000 electric customers and 324,000 natural gas customers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its core utility business, Avista invests in owned generation assets, including hydroelectric, natural gas–fired, coal and wind facilities, to support system reliability and long-term supply planning.
Founded in 1889 as the Spokane and Inland Empire Water Power Company, the business adopted the Avista name in 1999 to reflect its growing energy portfolio and strategic focus on innovation.
Further Reading
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