Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Avista (NYSE:AVA) Stock Price

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price target reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $40.00 to $39.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Avista Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Avista stock opened at $36.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.49. Avista has a 1-year low of $31.91 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.95 and a 200-day moving average of $37.71.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 75.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 202.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 57,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after buying an additional 38,550 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avista by 9.0% in the 3rd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avista by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,857,000 after purchasing an additional 27,328 shares in the last quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,638,000. 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.