Avista (NYSE:AVA) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Avista (NYSE:AVA) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.520-2.720 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.760. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AVA shares. Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on Avista in a report on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.72. 188,143 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 654,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.97. Avista has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.28.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.13). Avista had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.83%.The company had revenue of ($87.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Avista’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 83.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $71,038.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,552.18. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,680 shares of company stock worth $145,380 in the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth approximately $371,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 4,392 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Avista by 295.6% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 21,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 15,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the fourth quarter worth $892,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.