IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of IDACORP from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on IDACORP from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on IDACORP from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim raised IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.57.

IDACORP Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of IDA stock opened at $117.43 on Wednesday. IDACORP has a fifty-two week low of $90.64 and a fifty-two week high of $120.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.77. The company has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.56.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $432.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.24 million. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 9.23%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that IDACORP will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.77%.

Institutional Trading of IDACORP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IDA. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of IDACORP in the fourth quarter worth $704,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in IDACORP during the fourth quarter valued at about $913,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 7.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 343,400 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $35,401,000 after buying an additional 22,485 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of IDACORP in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of IDACORP by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,550 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

IDACORP Company Profile

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.