Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.49

Key Points

• Avista declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, payable June 12 to shareholders of record on May 19, implying an annualized yield of about 4.9%.
• The company beat Q results with $1.10 EPS vs. $1.04 expected but reported revenue of $555M (down 8% YoY and below estimates); Avista set FY2026 guidance of $2.52–$2.72 EPS (analysts expect $2.59).
• Avista has raised its dividend for 23 consecutive years and has a payout ratio near 72%, suggesting the current $1.97 annual dividend is roughly covered by expected earnings.

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.4925 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, June 12th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th.

Avista has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 23 years. Avista has a payout ratio of 71.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Avista to earn $2.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.97 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 72.4%.

Avista Stock Down 0.4%

AVA stock opened at $40.41 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Avista has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $40.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.17.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company had revenue of $555.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Avista's revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In related news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,401 shares in the company, valued at $337,552.18. This represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,933,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $421,382,000 after acquiring an additional 98,220 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Avista by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,305,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $204,465,000 after purchasing an additional 45,696 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Avista by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,985,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,550,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Avista by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,807,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,657,000 after buying an additional 257,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Avista by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,511,205 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,243,000 after acquiring an additional 4,506 shares during the last quarter. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Avista

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.

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