IMS Capital Management Buys Shares of 9,827 Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

IMS Capital Management bought a new position in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Avista by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 84,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,030,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 38,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 8.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 4.4% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 10,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AVA shares. StockNews.com raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho raised Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. 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, CEO Jason R. Thackston sold 2,500 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $92,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,071.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,897.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,916 shares of company stock valued at $215,268 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avista Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE AVA traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.64. 507,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 541,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.16. Avista Co. has a 52 week low of $30.53 and a 52 week high of $39.99.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $594.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.34 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.