Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $38.75

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.75.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Avista from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total value of $174,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,358.16. The trade was a 35.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at $605,448,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Avista in the second quarter worth about $37,919,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Avista in the second quarter worth about $19,466,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Avista in the second quarter worth about $12,535,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter valued at about $11,824,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AVA opened at $40.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Avista has a 1-year low of $34.46 and a 1-year high of $43.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.85 and a 200 day moving average of $39.71.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.04). Avista had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 12.75%. The company had revenue of $421.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.52 million. On average, research analysts expect that Avista will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

About Avista

Avista Corporation is an energy company whose principal business is providing regulated electric and natural gas service through Avista Utilities. Its operations include generating, transmitting and distributing electricity, as well as distributing natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Avista serves communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, along with parts of Oregon. The company also owns Alaska Electric Light and Power, which provides electric service in Juneau and nearby communities.