IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Short Interest Up 67.5% in November

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) saw a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a growth of 67.5% from the October 31st total of 662,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 327,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IDA shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on IDACORP in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho raised IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of IDACORP from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.83.

IDACORP Price Performance

NYSE:IDA opened at $118.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. IDACORP has a 52 week low of $86.43 and a 52 week high of $120.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.60.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.05). IDACORP had a return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $528.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that IDACORP will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a positive change from IDACORP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDACORP

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 0.8% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,992 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 7,374 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,523 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in IDACORP by 1.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,411 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its stake in IDACORP by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 4,801 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

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.