Stifel Financial Corp Lowers Stock Position in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its holdings in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,657 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in IDACORP were worth $2,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in IDACORP by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,555 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,956 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in IDACORP during the third quarter valued at about $211,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in IDACORP by 4.4% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 222,039 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $22,890,000 after buying an additional 9,271 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in IDACORP during the third quarter worth about $304,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in IDACORP in the third quarter worth about $1,486,000. 89.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IDACORP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IDA opened at $108.79 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.43 and a fifty-two week high of $120.42. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.27 and a 200-day moving average of $102.85.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.05). IDACORP had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 9.17%. The company had revenue of $528.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

IDACORP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This is an increase from IDACORP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on IDA shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of IDACORP in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on IDACORP from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America upgraded IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $113.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, IDACORP has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

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.