IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Short Interest Up 7.8% in October

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, an increase of 7.8% from the October 15th total of 1,290,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 334,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

IDACORP Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE IDA traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.47. 269,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,103. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.59. IDACORP has a 1 year low of $88.10 and a 1 year high of $112.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.04 and a 200 day moving average of $100.20.

IDACORP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from IDACORP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 31st. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is 61.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IDA. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on IDACORP from $112.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 4th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on IDACORP in a report on Friday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on IDACORP in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on IDACORP in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on IDACORP from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jeffrey L. Malmen sold 1,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.16, for a total value of $143,608.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,544,449.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDACORP

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IDA. American Trust raised its stake in IDACORP by 38,530.9% in the second quarter. American Trust now owns 728,192 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 726,307 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in IDACORP by 5,338.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 602,962 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $65,029,000 after buying an additional 591,874 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in IDACORP by 335.2% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 632,457 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $59,230,000 after buying an additional 487,134 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in IDACORP by 5.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,874,121 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $677,639,000 after buying an additional 313,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in IDACORP by 95.8% in the first quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 544,707 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $59,008,000 after buying an additional 266,545 shares during the last quarter. 83.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.