Avista (AVA) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. This segment also engages in the supply of electricity to customers in Montana; and wholesale purchase and sale of electricity and natural gas. The AEL&P segment offers electric services in Juneau, Alaska. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, thermal, wind, and solar generation facilities. As of December 31, 2023, it supplied retail electric services to approximately 416,000 customers; and retail natural gas services to approximately 381,000 customers. The company also operates five hydroelectric generation facilities with capacity of 102.7 MW; and four diesel generating facilities with a capacity of 107.5 MW. It also engages in venture fund investments, real estate investments, and other investments. Avista Corporation was incorporated in 1889 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $37.06 to $37.62
• 50-Day Range: $37.17 to $39.64
• 52-Week Range: $31.09 to $39.99
• Volume: 335,429 shs
• Average Volume: 475,915 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.92 billion
• P/E Ratio: 15.42
• Dividend Yield: 5.11%
• Price Target: $35.67
• Consensus Rating: Reduce

Avista Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Avista scored higher than 88% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 20th out of 94 stocks in the utilities sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Reduce

Consensus Rating

Avista has received a consensus rating of Reduce. The company's average rating score is 1.67, and is based on no buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Avista has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 7.92%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Avista are expected to grow by 7.92% in the coming year, from $2.40 to $2.59 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Avista is 15.42, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 134.04.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Avista is 15.42, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Utilities sector average P/E ratio of about 84.67.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Avista has a PEG Ratio of 3.27. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Avista has a P/B Ratio of 1.16. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.30% of the outstanding shares of Avista have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Avista has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.9.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Avista has recently decreased by 9.72%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

Avista is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 5.02%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Avista has been increasing its dividend for 22 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Avista is 78.84%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Avista will have a dividend payout ratio of 73.36% next year. This indicates that Avista will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Environmental Score: -3.54

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.30% of the outstanding shares of Avista have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Avista has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.9.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Avista has recently decreased by 9.72%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.26

News Sentiment

Avista has a news sentiment score of 1.26. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.62 average news sentiment score of Utilities companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 9 news articles for Avista this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

4 people have searched for AVA on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 33% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

2 people have added Avista to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 100% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Avista insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $91,968.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.96% of the stock of Avista is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

85.24% of the stock of Avista is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

AVA Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have AVA shares performed this year?

Avista's stock was trading at $35.74 at the start of the year. Since then, AVA shares have increased by 4.0% and is now trading at $37.1650.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Avista's earnings last quarter?

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August, 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.07. Avista's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Who are Avista's major shareholders?

Avista's top institutional investors include SG Americas Securities LLC (0.06%) and Park Avenue Securities LLC (0.02%). Insiders that own company stock include Scott L Morris, Mark T Thies, Jason R Thackston, Donald C Burke, James M Kensok, Latisha Diane Hill, Bryan Alden Cox, David J Meyer and Scott J Kinney.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Avista?

Shares of AVA stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Avista own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Avista investors own include AT&T (T), AbbVie (ABBV), Pfizer (PFE), Verizon Communications (VZ), Energy Transfer (ET), IDACORP (IDA) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/07/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 9/13 Dividend: 8/22/2024
• Dividend Payable: 9/13/2024
• Today: 10/08/2024
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/06/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Utilities
• Industry: Electric & other services combined
• Sub-Industry: Multi-Utilities
• Current Symbol: NYSE:AVA
• CUSIP: 05379B10
• CIK: 104918
• Web: www.avistacorp.com
• Phone: (509) 489-0500
• Fax: 509-777-5075
• Employees: 1,858
• Year Founded: 1889

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $35.67
• High Stock Price Target: $37.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $34.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -4.0%
• Consensus Rating: Reduce
• Rating Score (0-4): 1.67
• Research Coverage: 3 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $2.41
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 15.42
• Forward P/E Ratio: 15.49
• P/E Growth: 3.29
• Net Income: $171.18 million
• Net Margins: 10.12%
• Pretax Margin: 9.16%
• Return on Equity: 7.77%
• Return on Assets: 2.53%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.05
• Current Ratio: 0.88
• Quick Ratio: 0.60

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.91 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.52
• Cash Flow: $5.56 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 6.69
• Book Value: $32.12 per share
• Price / Book: 1.16

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 78,189,000
• Free Float: 77,438,000
• Market Cap: $2.91 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.47