Avista (NYSE:AVA) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $40.46 and traded as high as $41.50. Avista shares last traded at $40.9490, with a volume of 488,650 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on Avista in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avista has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.75.

Avista Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.46. 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 market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 3.84 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $570.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $65,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Avista during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Avista by 619.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the period. 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.