Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target to $39.00

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $41.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential downside of 4.28% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AVA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on shares of Avista in a report on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Avista presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.33.

Avista Stock Up 0.9%

AVA stock opened at $40.74 on Wednesday. Avista has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $43.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total value of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $382,867.42. This represents a 15.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Avista by 5.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 65,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after buying an additional 6,967 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Avista by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 283,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,857,000 after buying an additional 58,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Avista in the first quarter worth approximately $134,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avista Company 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.