Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stake in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,046,723 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,230 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.35% of IDACORP worth $660,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in IDACORP by 2.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,511 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in IDACORP by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,515 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,763 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,970 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,453 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of IDACORP by 1.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 44,313 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,568,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 545.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,974 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 12,653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IDA shares. Guggenheim raised IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of IDACORP from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of IDACORP from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of IDACORP from $129.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.50.

IDACORP Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of IDA stock opened at $115.08 on Monday. IDACORP, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.70 and a 1-year high of $120.42. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $112.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $398.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.21 million. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 9.23%. On average, analysts predict that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.81 EPS for the current year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.77%.

IDACORP 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.