Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $0.22 Per Share, KeyCorp Forecasts

Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) – KeyCorp issued their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Avista in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, July 21st. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.22 per share for the quarter. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Avista’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.09 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.19 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $3.03 EPS.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $594.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.34 million. Avista had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Avista from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho raised Avista from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Avista Stock Performance

Shares of AVA stock opened at $39.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.01. Avista has a one year low of $30.53 and a one year high of $39.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,988,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 95.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 709,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,365,000 after buying an additional 346,540 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,094,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,904,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,701,000 after buying an additional 174,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,429,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,229,000 after buying an additional 159,668 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total value of $61,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $401,387.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Latisha Diane Hill sold 1,700 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total value of $61,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,085 shares in the company, valued at $401,387.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,716 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $61,261.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,897.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,916 shares of company stock worth $215,268. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.84%.

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.