Avista (NYSE:AVA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Saturday . The stock traded as high as $41.01 and last traded at $40.90, with a volume of 2423822 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.42 and a 200-day moving average of $37.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Avista's payout ratio is currently 86.34%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avista

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 2,474.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Avista by 296.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.