Navellier & Associates Inc. Invests $614,000 in Avista Corporation $AVA

Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 15,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avista by 60.0% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Avista by 47.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Avista by 1,003.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $337,552.18. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Avista News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Avista this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly common dividend of $0.4925 per share (annualized $1.97), payable June 12 to holders of record May 19 — supports income-oriented investor demand. Avista Corp. Board Declares Common Stock Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat on the bottom line and management reaffirmed FY2026 utility EPS guidance of $2.52–$2.72. GAAP EPS was ~$1.10–1.11 vs. consensus ~1.04, and non?GAAP utility earnings were up vs. prior year — this supports earnings momentum and the company’s guidance credibility. Avista Q1 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target from $41 to $42 and kept a “neutral” rating — a modest show of confidence but not a bullish re?rating. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays trimmed its price target from $41 to $40 and maintained an “equal weight” stance, signaling limited near-term upside from that analyst. TickerReport / Barclays note
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue missed expectations ($555M reported vs. ~$644M expected) and was down ~8% year-over-year — the top-line weakness tempers the EPS beat and may concern growth-focused investors. MarketBeat earnings recap
• Negative Sentiment: Avista’s 2025 Form 10?K disclosed additional regulatory risk language and highlighted ongoing risk exposures — a reminder of regulatory and operational uncertainties that can affect utility returns. TipRanks: 10?K highlights

Avista Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AVA stock opened at $40.55 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Avista Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $555.00 million during 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%.Avista’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Avista’s payout ratio is 78.49%.

Avista 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.