KeyCorp Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Avista

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) – Equities research analysts at KeyCorp upped their Q4 2026 earnings per share estimates for Avista in a report issued on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $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 $2.58 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.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AVA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised 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 “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment 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.com, Avista presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Avista Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AVA opened at $42.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.25. Avista has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $43.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $570.00 million for 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 quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,933,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $421,382,000 after purchasing an additional 98,220 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Avista by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,305,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $204,465,000 after buying an additional 45,696 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Avista by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,985,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,550,000 after acquiring an additional 7,793 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Avista by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,807,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,657,000 after acquiring an additional 257,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Avista by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,516,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,860,000 after acquiring an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Avista Announces Dividend

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