IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a growth of 67.5% from the October 31st total of 662,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 327,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IDA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of IDACORP in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of IDACORP from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upgraded shares of IDACORP from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on IDACORP from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered IDACORP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDACORP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in IDACORP by 17.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,389,823 shares of the energy company's stock worth $246,367,000 after buying an additional 359,553 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 5.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,656,697 shares of the energy company's stock worth $170,789,000 after purchasing an additional 86,642 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of IDACORP by 1.7% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,445,991 shares of the energy company's stock worth $134,694,000 after purchasing an additional 23,925 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in IDACORP by 19.0% in the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,114,475 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $103,813,000 after purchasing an additional 178,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in IDACORP by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 950,206 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $97,981,000 after purchasing an additional 36,063 shares in the last quarter. 89.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IDACORP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IDA traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $118.47. The company had a trading volume of 130,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,273. The company's 50-day moving average price is $107.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.07. IDACORP has a one year low of $86.43 and a one year high of $120.42. The firm has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) last released 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). IDACORP had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 9.17%. The business had revenue of $528.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $524.39 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that IDACORP will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from IDACORP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. IDACORP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.82%.

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.