Yahoo Finance Reasons to Add Avista (AVA) to Your Portfolio Right Now
Avista Corporation AVA is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy and other energy-related businesses. The company focuses on providing safe, reliable and responsible energy and consistent investments in infrastructure.
Let’s explore the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment pick at the moment.
Growth Projections & Long-Term Earnings Growth
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVA’s 2023 earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at $2.32. This indicates a year-over-year bottom-line increase of 9.4%.
The company’s long-term (three- to five-year) earnings growth is pegged at 6.3%.
Return on Equity (ROE)
ROE indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing its funds to generate higher returns. Avista’s ROE is currently pegged at 6%, better than industry’s average of 4.9%, which indicates that the company is utilizing its funds more efficiently than peers.
Debt Position
Avista’s total debt to capital is 52%, better than the industry’s average of 53.7%.
AVA has a current ratio of 1.1, much better than the industry’s average of 0.9. This implies that the company is able to meet its short-term debt with its current assets.
Dividend History
The utility company has been consistently paying dividends to its shareholders. Avista paid out $1.76 per share in 2022. It raised its dividend in February 2023, taking the quarterly figure to 46 cents resulting in an annual payout of $1.84 per share.
The company increased its dividend five times in the past five years. AVA’s current dividend yield is 4.3%, better than the industry’s average of 3.4%.
Systematic Investments
Avista is continuously making investments to improve service and system reliability for the customers and replace aging infrastructure. The capital expenditure was $98 million in first-quarter 2023, and is expected to be $475 million in the 2023-2025 period.
Price Performance
In the past six months, shares of AVA have lost 2.3% compared with the broader industry’s 6.1% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked stocks in the same industry are Consolidated Edison Inc. ED, NorthWestern Corporation NWE and NiSource Inc. NI, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
ED’s long-term (three- to five-year) earnings growth rate is 2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is pegged at $4.86, implying a year-over-year improvement of 6.8%.
NWE’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is pegged at $3.48, implying a year-over-year improvement of 9.4%.
NI’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is pegged at $1.57, implying a year-over-year improvement of 6.8%.
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NiSource, Inc (NI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Consolidated Edison Inc (ED) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Avista Corporation (AVA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
NorthWestern Corporation (NWE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
