Insider Selling: Avista (NYSE:AVA) SVP Sells 1,593 Shares of Stock

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) SVP Wayne Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at $431,150.58. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.02. 177,890 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 617,469. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.24. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.56 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $555.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 10.75%.The company’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be 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 is Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

Avista News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Avista this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat — Avista reported higher-than-expected Q1 EPS (about $1.11 vs. ~$1.04 consensus), which reassures investors on near-term profitability despite lower revenue. This is the primary catalyst supporting the stock. Earnings Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared — the board approved a $0.4925 per share quarterly dividend (annualized $1.97), with record date May 19 and payable June 12; this yields roughly 4.8%, making the stock more attractive to income-focused investors. Dividend Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $42 but kept a “neutral” rating — a modest upward PT revision but no upgrade in conviction. Mizuho Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares (~$65k at ~$40.98), reducing his stake but leaving meaningful ownership; appears to be a routine SEC disclosure rather than a company-level red flag. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target from $41 to $40 and assigned an “equal weight” rating, signaling some analyst caution and a modest downside to the share-price outlook. Barclays Note
• Negative Sentiment: 2025 Form 10?K flagged ongoing regulatory risk exposure — the company disclosed a new regulation-related risk, which could pressure sentiment among fundamentally focused investors. 10?K Summary

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 0.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 160,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,459,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avista by 32.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 6,232 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Avista by 28.1% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 36,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Avista by 2,942.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 20,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AVA. Zacks Research cut Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avista has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Avista Company Profile

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.