Washington Trust Bank Trims Stake in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)

Washington Trust Bank lessened its holdings in shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,046 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in IDACORP were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in IDACORP during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of IDACORP by 65.8% during the second quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 368 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of IDACORP during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in IDACORP in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in IDACORP during the 2nd quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on IDA. StockNews.com cut IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of IDACORP in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $116.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, IDACORP presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.83.

IDACORP Price Performance

Shares of IDA opened at $111.22 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. IDACORP, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.43 and a twelve month high of $112.03. The company has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.60.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last issued 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is an increase from IDACORP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is 61.60%.

IDACORP Company 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.