KeyCorp Issues Negative Outlook for Avista Earnings

Key Points

• KeyCorp cut Avista’s Q2 2026 EPS forecast to $0.14 from $0.29, while estimating FY2026 EPS of $2.57. Avista’s full-year consensus EPS estimate is $2.58, compared with company guidance of $2.52–$2.72.
• Avista’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations on earnings, reporting $1.10 EPS versus the $1.04 consensus, but revenue fell 8% year over year to $570 million and missed estimates.
• The stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from analysts, with an average price target of $40.00. Avista also offers a $1.97 annualized dividend, yielding about 4.7%.

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) - Research analysts at KeyCorp cut their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for Avista in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.14 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.29. The consensus estimate for Avista's current full-year earnings is $2.58 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Avista's FY2026 earnings at $2.57 EPS.

AVA has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on Avista from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Avista from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on Avista in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Avista from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Avista from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avista currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

Avista Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AVA opened at $42.02 on Monday. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $43.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $570.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.55 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 7.65%. Avista's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Avista has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.720 EPS.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Avista's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avista

In other news, SVP Wayne O. Manuel sold 1,593 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total transaction of $65,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,521 shares of the company's stock, valued at $431,150.58. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Avista by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,137,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,829,000 after buying an additional 582,742 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Avista by 37,219.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 541,136 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,855,000 after acquiring an additional 539,686 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Avista by 1,723.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 442,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,728,000 after acquiring an additional 418,170 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Avista by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,191,896 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $197,032,000 after acquiring an additional 398,446 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 4th quarter valued at $13,533,000. 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.

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