Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 544,552 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,568 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.02% of IDACORP worth $59,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 359,553 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in IDACORP by 5.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,656,697 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $170,789,000 after buying an additional 86,642 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in IDACORP by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 950,206 shares of the energy company's stock worth $97,981,000 after buying an additional 36,063 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of IDACORP by 5.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 692,293 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $71,368,000 after acquiring an additional 35,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of IDACORP by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 343,400 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $35,401,000 after acquiring an additional 22,485 shares during the period. 89.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IDA. Bank of America raised shares of IDACORP from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on IDACORP from $129.00 to $118.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded IDACORP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim raised IDACORP from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of IDACORP from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, IDACORP presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.20.

IDACORP Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE IDA traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.13. 167,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,398. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.81. IDACORP, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.47 and a 52-week high of $120.42.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $398.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.21 million. IDACORP had a return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 15.35%. Equities research analysts anticipate that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. IDACORP's payout ratio is 63.82%.

IDACORP 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.