Bank of America Upgrades IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) to “Buy”

Bank of America upgraded shares of IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $117.00 target price on the energy company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $113.00.

IDA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on IDACORP in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on IDACORP from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on IDACORP from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho upgraded shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $116.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of IDACORP from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.83.

IDACORP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IDA traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $111.72. 6,037 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 345,110. IDACORP has a fifty-two week low of $86.43 and a fifty-two week high of $112.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.76. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $528.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.39 million. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 9.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that IDACORP will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This is an increase from IDACORP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is 61.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IDA. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in IDACORP by 18.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 26,296 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 4,023 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in IDACORP by 2.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,511 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in IDACORP by 6.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 56,648 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IDACORP during the 3rd quarter worth $506,000. 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.