Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target to $39.00

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $41.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AVA. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on Avista in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.33.

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE:AVA opened at $41.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.37. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 7.18%. Avista’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Analysts expect that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Avista’s payout ratio is 83.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $382,867.42. This trade represents a 15.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.