Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target Lowered to $37.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $38.00 to $37.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AVA. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Avista Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $40.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.30. Avista has a 52-week low of $35.47 and a 52-week high of $43.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.23.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 9.62%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.40%.

Insider Transactions at Avista

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $382,867.42. This represents a 15.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avista

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 21,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $798,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter worth $1,086,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Avista by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares during the period. Finally, A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avista by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 44,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. 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.