Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Shares Purchased by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Avista were worth $1,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AVA. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Avista by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Avista by 41,325.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avista by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Avista in the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the 3rd quarter worth about $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVA has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Avista from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho upgraded Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $37.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.35. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.48. Avista Co. has a one year low of $30.53 and a one year high of $44.76.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $594.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $469.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 78.84%.

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.