Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Avista (NYSE:AVA) Stock Price

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price target lowered by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $40.00 to $39.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.88% from the company’s previous close.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.49. 443,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 470,069. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.03 and a 200-day moving average of $37.70. Avista has a 1-year low of $31.91 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $383.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Avista

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Avista by 348.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 89,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,112,000 after purchasing an additional 69,857 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $879,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Avista by 38.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 9,552 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Avista by 5.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 43,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Avista in the second quarter valued at $613,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Company Profile

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.