Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.25.

Several analysts recently issued reports on AVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays cut their target price on Avista from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Mizuho upped 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $38.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.97. Avista has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. Avista had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $426.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Avista will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Avista’s payout ratio is 71.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVA. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Avista by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position 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 valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position 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 valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.