IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 922,536 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 178% from the previous session’s volume of 332,333 shares.The stock last traded at $113.52 and had previously closed at $113.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IDA. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on IDACORP from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on IDACORP from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of IDACORP from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.57.

IDACORP Trading Up 1.1 %

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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. IDACORP had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 15.83%. The business had revenue of $432.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDACORP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. IDACORP’s payout ratio is currently 61.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IDA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in IDACORP in the fourth quarter worth about $913,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of IDACORP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of IDACORP by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,550 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in IDACORP during the 4th quarter valued at $313,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in IDACORP by 90.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,184 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,803,000 after buying an additional 12,944 shares during the last quarter. 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.