Avista (NYSE:AVA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Avista (NYSE:AVA) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%. The company had revenue of $421.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.52 million.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.04. The company had a trading volume of 759,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,846. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.71. Avista has a 1 year low of $34.46 and a 1 year high of $43.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Avista from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Avista

Avista Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its Avista Utilities subsidiary, the company provides regulated electric and natural gas services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

Avista’s electric operations serve communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, while its natural gas service territory includes portions of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The company’s utility activities include generating, purchasing, transmitting, distributing, and supplying energy, as well as maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services.

The company traces its history to the founding of Washington Water Power in 1889.