Celebrations may be in order for Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. The revenue forecast for this year has experienced a facelift, with analysts now much more optimistic on its sales pipeline.

After the upgrade, the consensus from Avista's three analysts is for revenues of US$1.8b in 2024, which would reflect a perceptible 7.9% decline in sales compared to the last year of performance. Statutory earnings per share are expected to be US$2.48, roughly flat on the last 12 months. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$1.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.48 in 2024. It seems analyst sentiment has certainly become more bullish on revenues, even though they haven't changed their view on earnings per share.

Check out our latest analysis for Avista

The consensus price target increased 16% to US$46.33, with an improved revenue forecast carrying the promise of a more valuable business, in time.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 15% by the end of 2024. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 8.1% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 5.3% per year. It's pretty clear that Avista's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with analysts reconfirming that earnings per share are expected to continue performing in line with their prior expectations. Fortunately, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting revenues to grow slower than the wider market. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with analysts apparently feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving. Seeing the dramatic upgrade to this year's forecasts, it might be time to take another look at Avista.

Analysts are definitely bullish on Avista, but no company is perfect. Indeed, you should know that there are several potential concerns to be aware of, including dilutive stock issuance over the past year. For more information, you can click through to our platform to learn more about this and the 2 other warning signs we've identified .

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies backed by insiders.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.