IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 780,100 shares, a drop of 9.2% from the August 15th total of 858,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 317,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

IDACORP Price Performance

NYSE:IDA traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $103.43. The company had a trading volume of 472,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,525. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. IDACORP has a 52 week low of $86.43 and a 52 week high of $105.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.56.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $451.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $420.56 million. IDACORP had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 15.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that IDACORP will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of IDACORP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in IDACORP by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,634,463 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $160,700,000 after acquiring an additional 546,818 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in IDACORP by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,445,991 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $134,694,000 after purchasing an additional 23,925 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,114,475 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $103,813,000 after acquiring an additional 178,294 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in IDACORP by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 761,621 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $74,883,000 after purchasing an additional 7,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of IDACORP by 7.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 693,327 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $64,583,000 after acquiring an additional 47,527 shares during the last quarter. 89.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on IDA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of IDACORP from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on IDACORP from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of IDACORP in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.50.

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.