IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.40.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on IDACORP from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of IDACORP from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on IDACORP from $98.00 to $93.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded IDACORP to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

IDACORP Price Performance

Shares of IDA opened at $93.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.31. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. IDACORP has a twelve month low of $86.43 and a twelve month high of $106.33.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $448.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $441.21 million. IDACORP had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 8.71%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that IDACORP will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. IDACORP’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Insider Transactions at IDACORP

In other news, VP James Bo D. Hanchey sold 1,500 shares of IDACORP stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.09, for a total transaction of $142,635.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,898.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in IDACORP by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,634,463 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $160,700,000 after purchasing an additional 546,818 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,194,847 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $117,477,000 after acquiring an additional 273,560 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IDACORP in the first quarter valued at $86,962,000. American Trust boosted its holdings in IDACORP by 13.7% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 828,208 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $77,562,000 after purchasing an additional 100,016 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in IDACORP by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 761,621 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $74,883,000 after purchasing an additional 7,008 shares during the period. 89.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About IDACORP

IDACORP, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, purchase, and sale of electric energy in the United States. The company operates 17 hydropower generating plants located in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon; three natural gas-fired plants in southern Idaho; and interests in two coal-fired steam electric generating plants located in Wyoming and Nevada.