IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Short Interest Down 15.8% in November

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 934,700 shares, a drop of 15.8% from the November 15th total of 1,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 326,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDACORP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of IDACORP by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 905 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in IDACORP by 4.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in IDACORP in the second quarter worth about $8,032,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of IDACORP by 4.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 430,204 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $40,073,000 after buying an additional 19,750 shares during the period. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA lifted its position in shares of IDACORP by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 136,940 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $12,756,000 after buying an additional 7,282 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

IDACORP Stock Performance

NYSE:IDA traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $113.41. The company had a trading volume of 374,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,803. The firm has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.70. IDACORP has a 52 week low of $86.43 and a 52 week high of $120.42.

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

IDACORP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is a positive change from IDACORP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of IDACORP from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of IDACORP in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on IDACORP from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho raised IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $116.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

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.