Avista (NYSE:AVA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 509,381 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 648,268 shares.The stock last traded at $40.7060 and had previously closed at $42.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avista from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Avista from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.75.

Avista Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Avista Corporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,521 shares in the company, valued at $431,150.58. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Avista by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Bayban bought a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 619.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

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.