Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target to $39.00

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $40.00 to $39.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target points to a potential upside of 6.71% from the company's previous close.

Avista Stock Performance

AVA traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.55. 177,005 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,409. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $36.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.70. 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 $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.49. Avista has a 1 year low of $31.91 and a 1 year high of $39.99.

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

Institutional Trading of Avista

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Avista in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Avista by 296.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Avista by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Avista by 309.3% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

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.