Avista (NYSE:AVA) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 509,381 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 648,268 shares.The stock last traded at $40.7060 and had previously closed at $42.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Avista from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.75.

Avista Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.24.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $65,281.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Avista by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 30,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in Avista by 83.5% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 137,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,508,000 after buying an additional 62,438 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth about $246,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Avista by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 412,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,572,000 after buying an additional 12,265 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Avista by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

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.