Short Interest in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Expands By 5.8%

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,730,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the November 30th total of 2,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 483,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Avista in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVA. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Avista in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 46.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 256.6% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE AVA opened at $36.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.38 and its 200 day moving average is $37.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.48. 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 has a 1 year low of $31.91 and a 1 year high of $39.99.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.23%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.