IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) Plans $0.83 Quarterly Dividend

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.83 per share by the energy company on Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

IDACORP has raised its dividend by an average of 5.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. IDACORP has a payout ratio of 57.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect IDACORP to earn $5.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.7%.

IDACORP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IDA opened at $93.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $90.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.04. IDACORP has a 52-week low of $86.43 and a 52-week high of $112.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.56.

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The energy company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. IDACORP had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $411.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that IDACORP will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDACORP

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IDA. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in IDACORP in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in IDACORP by 34.4% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 426 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in IDACORP by 33.8% in the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in IDACORP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in IDACORP in the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IDA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of IDACORP from $100.00 to $94.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho cut their price target on IDACORP from $99.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Guggenheim cut IDACORP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. TheStreet cut IDACORP from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on IDACORP from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.80.

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.