Wayne Manuel Sells 1,593 Shares of Avista (NYSE:AVA) Stock

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) SVP Wayne Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction of $65,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE:AVA opened at $40.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.24. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $555.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter valued at $7,381,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 8.0% in 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 position in shares of Avista in the third quarter valued at $1,118,000. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 50.4% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 288,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,897,000 after purchasing an additional 96,532 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 146.6% in the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 76,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,875,000 after purchasing an additional 45,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

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.