KeyCorp Weighs in on Avista’s FY2026 Earnings (NYSE:AVA)

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) – Stock analysts at KeyCorp increased their FY2026 earnings estimates for Avista in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, October 12th. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.66 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.59. The consensus estimate for Avista’s current full-year earnings is $2.56 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Avista’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.68 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on Avista from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.75.

Avista Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE AVA opened at $36.20 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.67. Avista has a 12 month low of $34.46 and a 12 month high of $43.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. Avista had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $426.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Avista’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Avista by 184.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 56,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after buying an additional 36,866 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,331,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,631,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,129,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,535,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total transaction of $174,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,334 shares in the company, valued at $310,358.16. This represents a 35.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.12%.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its Avista Utilities subsidiary, the company generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Avista Utilities serves communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, with natural gas operations also extending into parts of Oregon. The company’s energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, thermal and renewable generation resources, supported by transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Avista also operates Alaska Electric Light & Power Company, which provides electric service to customers in Juneau, Alaska.