Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Short Interest Down 6.0% in June

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,800,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the May 31st total of 2,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 445,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVA has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Avista Price Performance

NYSE AVA traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $33.88. 201,174 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,593. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.06 and a 200-day moving average of $34.96. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 0.46. Avista has a 52 week low of $30.53 and a 52 week high of $40.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $594.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.84%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $61,557.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $61,261.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,196 shares in the company, valued at $256,897.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $61,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at $401,387.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,916 shares of company stock valued at $215,268 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Avista by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 89,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,881,000 after buying an additional 24,682 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Avista by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 46,298 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,820,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,944,000 after purchasing an additional 212,343 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $377,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,643,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.