Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target to $39.00

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $41.00 to $39.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 3.45% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on AVA. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on Avista in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Avista from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Avista presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Avista Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.39. 240,923 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 573,997. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.32. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $43.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.30.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 7.18%. Avista’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,867.42. This trade represents a 15.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista during the 2nd quarter worth $3,669,000. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,118,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,745,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Avista by 70.9% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 79,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 32,926 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Avista by 52.7% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,110,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,101,000 after buying an additional 728,543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.