Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Buys Shares of 74,966 IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 74,966 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $8,192,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.14% of IDACORP as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IDA. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in IDACORP by 90.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,184 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,803,000 after buying an additional 12,944 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in IDACORP in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of IDACORP by 229.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 610 shares of the energy company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of IDACORP during the 4th quarter valued at about $704,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,049 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on IDA shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of IDACORP from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of IDACORP from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of IDACORP from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.57.

IDACORP Price Performance

Shares of IDACORP stock traded up $1.24 on Friday, hitting $114.92. 2,427,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 337,631. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.28. IDACORP, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.64 and a 1-year high of $120.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $432.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $442.24 million. IDACORP had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 15.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. IDACORP's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.10%.

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.