Avista (NYSE:AVA) vs. Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Critical Comparison

Avista (NYSE:AVA) and Entergy (NYSE:ETR) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Avista and Entergy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avista	$1.96 billion	1.70	$180.00 million	$2.35	17.48
Entergy	$12.73 billion	3.33	$1.06 billion	$4.05	23.44

Entergy has higher revenue and earnings than Avista. Avista is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Entergy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Avista has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Entergy has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Avista pays an annual dividend of $1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Entergy pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Avista pays out 83.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Entergy pays out 63.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Avista has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years and Entergy has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Avista is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Avista and Entergy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avista	9.13%	6.86%	2.25%
Entergy	14.26%	11.53%	2.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Avista and Entergy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avista	0	3	0	0	2.00
Entergy	0	3	12	2	2.94

Avista presently has a consensus target price of $40.33, indicating a potential downside of 1.81%. Entergy has a consensus target price of $102.37, indicating a potential upside of 7.84%. Given Entergy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Entergy is more favorable than Avista.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

85.2% of Avista shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Entergy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Avista shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Entergy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Entergy beats Avista on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avista

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. This segment also engages in the supply of electricity to customers in Montana; and wholesale purchase and sale of electricity and natural gas. The AEL&P segment offers electric services in Juneau, Alaska. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, thermal, wind, and solar generation facilities. As of December 31, 2023, it supplied retail electric services to approximately 416,000 customers; and retail natural gas services to approximately 381,000 customers. The company also operates five hydroelectric generation facilities with capacity of 102.7 MW; and four diesel generating facilities with a capacity of 107.5 MW. It also engages in venture fund investments, real estate investments, and other investments. Avista Corporation was incorporated in 1889 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

About Entergy

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. It generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas. It also engages in the ownership of interests in non-nuclear power plants that sell electric power to wholesale customers, as well as provides decommissioning services to other nuclear power plant owners. It generates electricity through gas, nuclear, coal, hydro, and solar power sources. The company sells energy to retail power providers, utilities, electric power co-operatives, power trading organizations, and other power generation companies. The company’s power plants have approximately 24,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity. It delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy Corporation was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.