IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Short Interest Up 13.0% in July

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 913,100 shares, an increase of 13.0% from the June 30th total of 807,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 338,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded IDACORP to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on IDACORP from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on IDACORP from $98.00 to $93.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on IDACORP from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.40.

IDACORP Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE IDA traded up $0.13 on Monday, reaching $97.63. 218,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 363,046. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $93.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. IDACORP has a fifty-two week low of $86.43 and a fifty-two week high of $103.25.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $448.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $441.21 million. IDACORP had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 14.18%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. Analysts forecast that IDACORP will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Activity at IDACORP

In related news, VP James Bo D. Hanchey sold 1,500 shares of IDACORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.09, for a total transaction of $142,635.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,650 shares in the company, valued at $156,898.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDACORP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in IDACORP by 65.8% in the second quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 368 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in IDACORP in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in IDACORP in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in IDACORP in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in IDACORP by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 690 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 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.