Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at $431,150.58. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE AVA opened at $42.43 on Thursday. Avista has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.22 and a 200-day moving average of $40.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.24.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results 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. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The company had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. 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.