Brokerages Set Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) PT at $40.50

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.75.

AVA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on Avista from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $41.06 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.45. Avista has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $43.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Avista will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at $431,150.58. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avista

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Avista by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Bayban acquired a new stake in Avista in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Avista by 619.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 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.