Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target Lowered to $40.00 at Barclays

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Barclays from $41.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.67% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AVA. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research cut Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Avista Stock Down 0.6%

AVA stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.68. The stock had a trading volume of 63,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.15. Avista has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $555.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.55 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.83% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter worth $7,381,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 8.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 519,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,659,000 after purchasing an additional 38,651 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Avista in the third quarter worth about $1,118,000. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in Avista by 50.4% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 288,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,897,000 after buying an additional 96,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in Avista by 146.6% during the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 76,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,875,000 after acquiring an additional 45,200 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Avista News

Here are the key news stories impacting Avista this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and strong bottom?line: Avista reported GAAP EPS of $1.11 (non?GAAP $1.10), above street estimates, driven by higher utility earnings versus the year?ago quarter. This is the primary catalyst supporting the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company reaffirmed FY2026 utility earnings guidance of $2.52–$2.72 per share, in line with analyst expectations, which reassures investors on near?term earnings visibility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho nudged its price target to $42 (from $41) but maintained a “neutral” rating, signaling modest upside but no upgrade in conviction from this shop. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple earnings transcripts and coverage (InsiderMonkey, Seeking Alpha, The Motley Fool) confirm the beat and management commentary; these provide color but don’t materially change the picture beyond the press release. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and weaker topline: Q1 revenue was $555M versus ~ $643M expected and down ~8% year?over?year, which may limit multiple expansion and raise near?term growth concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: 10?K flagged a new regulatory risk disclosure, highlighting ongoing regulatory exposure that could weigh on investor sentiment and valuations over time. Read More.

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.