IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Short Interest Up 101.4% in May

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,980,000 shares, an increase of 101.4% from the April 30th total of 1,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 433,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.9 days. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on IDA. Morgan Stanley set a $128.00 target price on IDACORP and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on IDACORP from $121.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of IDACORP from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of IDACORP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.86.

Institutional Trading of IDACORP

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of IDACORP by 90.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,184 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,803,000 after buying an additional 12,944 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of IDACORP during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of IDACORP by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,939 shares of the energy company's stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of IDACORP by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the energy company's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in IDACORP by 123.6% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 407 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.10% of the company's stock.

IDACORP Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of IDA stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.99. 245,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,699. The company has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $116.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.89. IDACORP has a 1-year low of $90.64 and a 1-year high of $120.84.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The business had revenue of $432.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.24 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that IDACORP will post 5.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. IDACORP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.