KeyCorp Has Optimistic Outlook of Avista Q4 Earnings

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) – KeyCorp raised their Q4 2026 earnings per share estimates for Avista in a report released on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.97 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.84. The consensus estimate for Avista’s current full-year earnings is $2.59 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Avista’s FY2028 earnings at $3.00 EPS, FY2029 earnings at $3.17 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $3.41 EPS.

AVA has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research raised Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Avista from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of Avista stock opened at $42.15 on Friday. Avista has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.31 and its 200 day moving average is $40.89. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The business had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Avista in the second quarter worth about $1,631,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 62,438 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the first quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Avista by 3.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 412,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,572,000 after buying an additional 12,265 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction of $65,281.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Avista’s payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

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.