KeyCorp Equities Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Avista

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) – Research analysts at KeyCorp reduced their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Avista in a report released on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.88 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.04. The consensus estimate for Avista’s current full-year earnings is $2.36 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Avista’s FY2025 earnings at $2.62 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.77 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.88 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $3.00 EPS.

Separately, Bank of America assumed coverage on Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company.

Avista Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:AVA opened at $37.51 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.48. Avista has a 1 year low of $31.91 and a 1 year high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Avista’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Avista

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avista by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Avista by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in Avista by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Avista by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Avista by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 63,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.07%. Avista’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.70%.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.