Avista (NYSE:AVA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 713,739 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 502,632 shares.The stock last traded at $40.39 and had previously closed at $40.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.23 and its 200-day moving average is $37.76. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.48 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.34%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,253,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,908,000 after buying an additional 24,981 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth $561,000. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter worth about $1,340,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $70,857,000 after buying an additional 27,328 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Avista in the fourth quarter valued at $310,000. 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.