Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target Raised to $42.00

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its target price lifted by Mizuho from $41.00 to $42.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AVA. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Avista from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $40.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.24. Avista has a twelve month low of $35.50 and a twelve month high of $43.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.18.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $555.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Avista Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,916 shares of company stock worth $158,408 over the last ninety days. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avista

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Global Investments raised its position in Avista by 51.3% during the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 15,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,130 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Avista by 0.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,516,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,860,000 after acquiring an additional 4,958 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised 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 worth $6,459,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 6,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Avista by 28.1% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 36,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.