IDACORP, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.83 (NYSE:IDA)

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.83 per share by the energy company on Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

IDACORP has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. IDACORP has a dividend payout ratio of 57.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect IDACORP to earn $5.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.7%.

IDACORP Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE IDA opened at $93.90 on Friday. IDACORP has a twelve month low of $86.43 and a twelve month high of $112.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.56.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The energy company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. IDACORP had a return on equity of 9.06% and a net margin of 14.79%. The business had revenue of $411.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that IDACORP will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim cut IDACORP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. TheStreet cut IDACORP from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on IDACORP from $100.00 to $94.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on IDACORP from $99.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on IDACORP from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IDACORP during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 34.4% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 426 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IDACORP in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of IDACORP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. 89.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.