Avista (NYSE:AVA) SVP Wayne Manuel Sells 1,593 Shares

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) SVP Wayne Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction of $65,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,150.58. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Avista Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:AVA opened at $40.94 on Friday. Avista Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $43.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company had revenue of $555.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Avista

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Avista by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,933,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $421,382,000 after purchasing an additional 98,220 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Avista by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,305,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $204,465,000 after buying an additional 45,696 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avista by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,985,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,550,000 after buying an additional 7,793 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Avista by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,807,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,657,000 after buying an additional 257,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Avista from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on Avista in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on Avista from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avista presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AVA

Avista Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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