IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on IDA. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of IDACORP from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of IDACORP from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upgraded shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on IDACORP from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.50.

IDACORP Stock Performance

Shares of IDA opened at $116.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.06 and a 200 day moving average of $112.67. IDACORP has a 12 month low of $90.64 and a 12 month high of $120.84.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $432.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that IDACORP will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IDA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in IDACORP by 98.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 242 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in IDACORP during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of IDACORP in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of IDACORP by 2,150.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 315 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of IDACORP by 123.6% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 407 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. 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.