KeyCorp Has Bullish Outlook for Avista FY2024 Earnings

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at KeyCorp increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Avista in a report issued on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $2.43 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.42. The consensus estimate for Avista's current full-year earnings is $2.40 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Avista's Q4 2024 earnings at $1.04 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $3.01 EPS.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $390.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $386.69 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.23 EPS.

Separately, Bank of America started coverage on Avista in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVA traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.36. 323,301 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 515,445. Avista has a one year low of $31.19 and a one year high of $39.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $38.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.96.

Avista Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total value of $91,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,436 shares in the company, valued at $208,307.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,559,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,772,000 after purchasing an additional 33,431 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Avista by 0.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,551,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $122,916,000 after buying an additional 13,445 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in Avista by 10.1% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,904,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $66,701,000 after acquiring an additional 174,951 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Avista by 4.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,534,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,103,000 after acquiring an additional 61,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Avista by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 692,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,983,000 after acquiring an additional 83,127 shares during the period. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.