Avista (NYSE:AVA) Price Target Lowered to $37.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Avista (NYSE:AVA) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $38.00 to $37.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 7.37% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AVA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Avista in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on Avista in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Avista Stock Down 0.6%

AVA traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.95. 86,768 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 542,380. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.22. Avista has a twelve month low of $35.47 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.30.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. Avista had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities analysts expect that Avista will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,785 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $69,150.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,867.42. This trade represents a 15.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avista

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avista in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 54.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Avista during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 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.