Avista (NYSE:AVA) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $35.24 and last traded at $35.49, with a volume of 763478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVA. Barclays cut their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings cut Avista from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Avista Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.37 and its 200 day moving average is $40.01.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 71.12%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,358.16. This trade represents a 35.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth $605,448,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Avista by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,985,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,550,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Avista by 0.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,516,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,860,000 after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Avista in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,919,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in Avista by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 739,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,262,000 after purchasing an additional 100,918 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

About Avista

Avista Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Spokane, Washington, operating primarily through its regulated utility businesses. Its principal subsidiary, Avista Utilities, provides electric and natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Avista Utilities operates electric and natural gas systems in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, as well as parts of Oregon. Through Alaska Electric Light & Power Company, Avista also provides electric service in Juneau, Alaska.