First National Advisers LLC Acquires New Position in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC acquired 7,905 shares of IDACORP, Inc., valued at approximately $919,000, highlighting institutional interest in the energy company.
• IDACORP declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.44 and a yield of 2.79%.
• Analysts have generally rated IDACORP with a "Moderate Buy," with a consensus price target increase to $122.86, reflecting positive growth expectations.

First National Advisers LLC bought a new position in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 7,905 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $919,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in IDACORP by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,723 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $660,786,000 after buying an additional 77,230 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in IDACORP by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,424,956 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $374,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,133 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in IDACORP by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,909,695 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $208,692,000 after purchasing an additional 166,864 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,379,408 shares of the energy company's stock worth $150,742,000 after buying an additional 29,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 954,035 shares of the energy company's stock worth $104,288,000 after buying an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. 89.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IDA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on IDACORP from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on IDACORP from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $118.00) on shares of IDACORP in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of IDACORP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of IDACORP from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.86.

IDACORP Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE IDA traded up $2.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $125.25. The company had a trading volume of 276,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,188. The business's 50-day moving average is $116.95 and its 200-day moving average is $115.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.56. IDACORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $97.73 and a 52 week high of $125.94.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.07. IDACORP had a net margin of 16.61% and a return on equity of 9.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. Equities analysts expect that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. IDACORP's payout ratio is 61.10%.

IDACORP 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.