Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target to $37.00

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $38.00 to $37.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 8.28% from the company’s previous close.

AVA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on Avista in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Avista Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE AVA opened at $40.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.25. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $35.47 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total value of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,867.42. The trade was a 15.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Avista in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.