Short Interest in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Increases By 5.8%

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,730,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the November 30th total of 2,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 483,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.75.

Avista Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.63. 424,123 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 518,963. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $37.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.41. Avista has a 12-month low of $31.91 and a 12-month high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.48.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $389.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Avista's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Avista will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Avista's payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth about $40,000. KBC Group NV increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Avista by 256.6% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is 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.