MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,905 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in IDACORP by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 129,880 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $12,065,000 after acquiring an additional 20,184 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in IDACORP by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,368 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,908,000 after purchasing an additional 35,217 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in IDACORP in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,032,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of IDACORP by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,341 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 5,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of IDACORP by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 256,446 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $23,821,000 after buying an additional 51,521 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

IDACORP Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of IDA opened at $117.35 on Thursday. IDACORP, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.43 and a fifty-two week high of $119.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.70 and a 200 day moving average of $99.42. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.70.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $528.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.39 million. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 9.17%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.41 EPS for the current 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 given 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 2.93%. This is an increase from IDACORP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on IDA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on IDACORP from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on IDACORP in a research note 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 boosted their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho upgraded shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $116.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IDACORP presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.83.

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.