Avista (NYSE:AVA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. Avista had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 9.77%. The business had revenue of $594.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $469.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Avista's quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Avista updated its FY24 guidance to $2.36-2.56 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 2.360-2.560 EPS.

Avista Stock Performance

AVA stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.79. 478,035 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 572,557. Avista has a 52-week low of $30.53 and a 52-week high of $44.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $34.35 and its 200 day moving average is $34.31.

Avista Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Avista's payout ratio is 85.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Avista from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. Guggenheim raised shares of Avista from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.50.

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.