Short Interest in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Drops By 6.0%

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,800,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the May 31st total of 2,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 445,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Avista Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AVA opened at $33.87 on Thursday. Avista has a 52-week low of $30.53 and a 52-week high of $40.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 9.96%. The business had revenue of $594.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total value of $61,557.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,916 shares of company stock valued at $215,268 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVA. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Avista by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 36,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in Avista by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 84,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avista by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 38,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Avista by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Avista by 8.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

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.