IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) Given New $98.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the energy company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of IDACORP from $99.00 to $88.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet downgraded IDACORP from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on IDACORP from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Guggenheim cut IDACORP from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $93.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised IDACORP to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IDACORP presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $94.60.

IDACORP Price Performance

NYSE IDA traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.20. The stock had a trading volume of 480,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 340,427. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.99. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32 and a beta of 0.55. IDACORP has a 52-week low of $86.43 and a 52-week high of $112.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $448.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $441.21 million. IDACORP had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 8.73%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that IDACORP will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of IDACORP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of IDACORP by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,634,463 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $160,700,000 after acquiring an additional 546,818 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,194,847 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $117,477,000 after purchasing an additional 273,560 shares during the last quarter. American Trust grew its stake in shares of IDACORP by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 828,208 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $77,562,000 after buying an additional 100,016 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 761,621 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $74,883,000 after buying an additional 7,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of IDACORP by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 649,195 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $63,829,000 after buying an additional 61,546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.