KeyCorp Has Negative Forecast for Avista Q4 Earnings

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) – KeyCorp reduced their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Avista in a research note issued on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.88 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate 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 initiated coverage on Avista in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company.

Avista Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE AVA opened at $37.25 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista has a 1-year low of $31.91 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.48.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 75.70%.

Institutional Trading of Avista

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVA. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Avista during the 3rd quarter worth $10,076,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,130,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the second quarter worth $6,506,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Avista during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,638,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,838,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Avista

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.