IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $120.50.

Several research analysts have recently commented on IDA shares. Bank of America lifted 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. StockNews.com cut shares of IDACORP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of IDACORP from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded IDACORP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on IDACORP from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th.

IDACORP Trading Up 0.6 %

IDA stock traded up $0.68 on Friday, hitting $118.24. 518,598 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 330,287. IDACORP has a twelve month low of $90.64 and a twelve month high of $120.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business's fifty day moving average is $116.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.58.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $398.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.21 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that IDACORP will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

IDACORP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. IDACORP's payout ratio is presently 62.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDACORP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,723 shares of the energy company's stock worth $660,786,000 after buying an additional 77,230 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in IDACORP by 43.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,035,133 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $208,692,000 after buying an additional 166,864 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 2.2% during 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, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 75.4% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 998,383 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $109,103,000 after buying an additional 429,276 shares during the period. 89.10% of the stock is owned by 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.