Short Interest in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Grows By 8.1%

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Avista in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,551,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,916,000 after purchasing an additional 13,445 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Avista by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,857,000 after buying an additional 27,328 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 4.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,534,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,103,000 after acquiring an additional 61,466 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,597,000 after purchasing an additional 26,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 9.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,295,000 after acquiring an additional 34,829 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE AVA traded up $0.22 on Friday, hitting $37.27. 434,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 494,163. Avista has a twelve month low of $31.91 and a twelve month high of $39.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Avista will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s payout ratio is 75.70%.

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.