UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Downgrades Avista to Underperform, Lowers PT

In a report published Wednesday, BMO Capital Markets downgraded its rating on Avista Corp.

from Market Perform to Underperform, and lowered its price target from $27.00 to $24.00. BMO Capital Markets noted, “In our view, management has given us no cause for confidence that the issues that plagued Ecova since the start of 2012, and which management was convinced would turn around in 2H12, will in actuality reverse in 2013. Organic growth has clearly slowed, utility energy management orders did not materialize and fixed costs have risen. While management indicated it would consider the sale of Ecova, given the current strains on performance we do not see this as a near-term likelihood.” Avista Corp. closed on Tuesday at $25.03.