Avista Corporation (AVA) Stock Price & How to Invest

Avista Corporation is a regulated utility holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through Avista Utilities it generates, transmits, and distributes electricity and delivers natural gas to roughly 1.7 million customers across eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and parts of Oregon, and through Alaska Electric Light and Power (AEL&P) it serves Juneau, Alaska. Its earnings come almost entirely from monopoly regulated operations, where state utility commissions set the rates and allowed returns, making revenue and profit relatively predictable but capped by the regulatory framework.

The investment picture is a defensive, income-first one. Avista affirmed 2026 non-GAAP utility earnings guidance of roughly $2.52 to $2.72 per diluted share and a long-term utility earnings growth target of about 4 to 6 percent, funded by a roughly $3.4 billion 2026-2030 capital plan that supports around 7 to 8 percent rate-base growth. The dividend yields about 5.4 percent at the October 16, 2026 price of $36.60, which is the primary attraction, while the main swing factors are the outcomes of rate cases across Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska and the cost of wildfire mitigation in a fire-exposed service territory.

The second quarter of 2026 beat expectations on paper: earnings of $0.43 per share against a $0.24 consensus, on revenue of about $413 million, though part of the strength came from a gain on a non-utility investment (an Energy Impact Partners holding that went public) rather than the regulated business. The same week, wildfires around Spokane damaged transmission lines and left roughly 7,300 electric and 5,300 natural gas customers without service; management said the costs did not appear large enough to need the securitization tool Washington law allows. Avista also paused work on a proposed 500-megawatt data center and removed it from the capital plan. Third-quarter results are due November 4, 2026, with consensus near $0.40 per share.

Avista is a small-cap utility with concentrated exposure to Pacific Northwest regulation, so an unfavorable rate-case outcome, such as the Washington order expected around mid-December 2026, can directly compress earnings. Wildfire is a material and now live risk: the summer 2026 Spokane-area fires damaged transmission lines and cut service to thousands of customers, the cause was still under investigation at the August call, mitigation spending is rising (around $45 million capital and $20 million O&M in 2026), and liability from a catastrophic fire could pressure the balance sheet despite deferral mechanisms and supportive legislation. Heavy capital spending means ongoing reliance on debt (about $3.4 billion against $25 million of cash in mid-2026) and equity issuance, which is sensitive to interest rates and can dilute shareholders; free cash flow was about negative $235 million over the last twelve months. Gains on non-utility investments add volatility, as the 2026 investment gain showed. Weather variability and the Energy Recovery Mechanism (ERM) also introduce quarter-to-quarter earnings swings. As a regulated utility, upside is structurally capped by allowed returns.

6 analysts publish price targets on AVA, averaging $41.00 against a $36.67 price as of October 2026, or +11.8%. The published targets run from $35.00 to $50.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 1 buy, 5 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 3 raises and 4 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full AVA forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Avista Corporation. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Rate base and capital plan. Avista has outlined roughly $3.4 billion of capital spending for 2026-2030 on grid modernization, gas infrastructure, and wildfire hardening. The most optimistic published target, $50.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Avista is a small-cap utility with concentrated exposure to Pacific Northwest regulation, so an unfavorable rate-case outcome, such as the Washington order expected around mid-December 2026, can directly compress earnings. The most pessimistic target, $35.00, is roughly what AVA is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on AVA, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. Avista Corporation (AVA) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Avista Corporation's investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$1.92B (Q2 2026 ~$413M)
• Net income (TTM): ~$227M (net margin ~11.8%)
• EPS (TTM) / Q2 2026: ~$2.77 / $0.43 vs $0.24 expected
• P/E trailing / forward: ~13.2x / ~13.1x
• Dividend (annualized) / yield: ~$1.97 / ~5.4%
• Market cap: ~$3.1B ($36.60 share price)
• Total debt: ~$3.4B
• 2026-2030 capital plan: ~$3.4B

At about 13 times trailing and forward earnings and roughly 1.1 times book value, AVA trades at a discount to most larger utilities because of its small size, wildfire exposure and the pending Washington rate decision. The 5.4% yield is high for the sector, and the payout ratio near 71% sits within a normal utility range. Third-quarter results on November 4, 2026 (consensus about $0.40 per share) and the December Washington order are the next catalysts.

Other names that sit close to AVA: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get AVA exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so AVA sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where AVA fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

AVA is a small-cap regulated utility whose story hinges on rate-case outcomes, a multi-year capital plan, and wildfire risk, with the dividend as the main draw for income-oriented holders. In 2026 the Spokane-area wildfires, a contested Washington rate case due for a decision around mid-December, and a paused data center project have kept the shares near the low end of their 52-week range, at roughly 13 times earnings.

Whether AVA is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is AVA a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the AVA stock forecast.

For income investors, whether AVA pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does AVA pay a dividend? And to weigh AVA against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: AVA vs POR and AVA vs IDA.