Brokerages Set Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Price Target at $40.00

Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Avista from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd.

Avista Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $40.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.99. Avista has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The business’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Avista will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction of $65,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Avista by 105.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,137,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,829,000 after buying an additional 582,742 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 37,219.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 541,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,855,000 after acquiring an additional 539,686 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Avista by 1,723.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 442,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,728,000 after acquiring an additional 418,170 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Avista by 8.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,191,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,032,000 after acquiring an additional 398,446 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth $13,533,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Company Profile

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.