Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,950,000 shares, an increase of 8.1% from the December 15th total of 2,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 498,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Avista in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.75.

Avista Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE AVA opened at $37.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. 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 has a 12 month low of $31.91 and a 12 month high of $39.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.12 and a 200-day moving average of $37.63.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 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 the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business 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 5.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 75.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Avista by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Eastern Bank raised its stake in Avista by 309.3% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

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.