Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Receives $40.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVA. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th.

Avista Stock Down 0.7%

AVA stock opened at $40.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.30. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The company had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avista will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction of $65,281.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,150.58. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,916 shares of company stock worth $158,408. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVA. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Avista by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Avista in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Avista by 619.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Avista

Avista Corporation operates as an integrated energy company providing electric and natural gas delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest. Through its regulated utility operations, the company maintains and upgrades an extensive transmission and distribution network, delivering reliable energy to approximately 400,000 electric customers and 324,000 natural gas customers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In addition to its core utility business, Avista invests in owned generation assets, including hydroelectric, natural gas–fired, coal and wind facilities, to support system reliability and long-term supply planning.

Founded in 1889 as the Spokane and Inland Empire Water Power Company, the business adopted the Avista name in 1999 to reflect its growing energy portfolio and strategic focus on innovation.