IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Short Interest Up 13.0% in July

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 913,100 shares, an increase of 13.0% from the June 30th total of 807,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 338,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IDACORP news, VP James Bo D. Hanchey sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.09, for a total value of $142,635.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,898.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IDA. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in IDACORP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,962,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,634,463 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $160,700,000 after acquiring an additional 546,818 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,194,847 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $117,477,000 after acquiring an additional 273,560 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 394,857 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $38,822,000 after acquiring an additional 221,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IDACORP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,759,000. 89.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of IDACORP from $98.00 to $93.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of IDACORP from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded IDACORP to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on IDACORP from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.40.

IDACORP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IDA traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $97.63. 218,278 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,046. IDACORP has a 52 week low of $86.43 and a 52 week high of $103.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.66.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.06). IDACORP had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $448.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $441.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that IDACORP will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. IDACORP’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

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.