IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Short Interest Down 16.2% in July

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 765,400 shares, a drop of 16.2% from the July 15th total of 913,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 353,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity at IDACORP

In other news, VP James Bo D. Hanchey sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.09, for a total transaction of $142,635.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,898.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDACORP

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in IDACORP by 14,206.7% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 25,609 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after buying an additional 25,430 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in IDACORP by 18.4% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 129,880 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $12,065,000 after acquiring an additional 20,184 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in IDACORP by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 204,925 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $20,148,000 after acquiring an additional 12,432 shares during the last quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in IDACORP by 273.1% in the 1st quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,425 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 28,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,368 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,908,000 after purchasing an additional 35,217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

IDACORP Stock Performance

Shares of IDA stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.03. 244,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,806. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.45. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.19. IDACORP has a 12-month low of $86.43 and a 12-month high of $104.43.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $451.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $420.56 million. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 9.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that IDACORP will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on IDA. StockNews.com upgraded IDACORP to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of IDACORP from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $98.00 to $93.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of IDACORP from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, IDACORP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.