UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) Stock

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $118.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the energy company's stock. UBS Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 1.77% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded IDACORP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered IDACORP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim increased their target price on IDACORP from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on IDACORP from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned 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 "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.86.

IDACORP Price Performance

IDA stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 367,226. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.56. IDACORP has a 12 month low of $93.16 and a 12 month high of $120.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.90.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $432.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.24 million. IDACORP had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 16.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts expect that IDACORP will post 5.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDACORP

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,723 shares of the energy company's stock worth $660,786,000 after acquiring an additional 77,230 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,536,138 shares of the energy company's stock worth $410,970,000 after acquiring an additional 111,182 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 10.5% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,110,160 shares of the energy company's stock worth $245,243,000 after acquiring an additional 200,465 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 0.9% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,391,564 shares of the energy company's stock worth $161,728,000 after acquiring an additional 12,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 25.0% during the first quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,247,925 shares of the energy company's stock worth $145,034,000 after acquiring an additional 249,542 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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