Avista (NYSE:AVA) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Avista set FY 2026 EPS guidance at 2.520–2.720, roughly in line with the Street consensus of 2.59 (analysts' average 2.57).
• The company reported Q1 EPS of $1.10, beating analysts' estimate of $1.04.
• Avista raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4925 (annualized $1.97), implying a yield of about 4.9% and a payout ratio near 82.8%.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.520-2.720 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.590. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AVA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avista from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avista from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Avista in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Avista from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.25.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of AVA opened at $40.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.24. Avista has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $43.50. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $40.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Avista had a net margin of 9.83% and a return on equity of 7.29%. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Avista will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avista news, SVP Bryan Alden Cox sold 1,768 shares of Avista stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total transaction of $71,038.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at $337,552.18. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Avista by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Avista during the third quarter worth about $43,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Avista by 619.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Avista during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. 85.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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