IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $104.04 and traded as high as $110.28. IDACORP shares last traded at $109.28, with a volume of 197,901 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IDA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on IDACORP from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of IDACORP in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho upgraded IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $102.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $113.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.00.

IDACORP Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.07.

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

IDACORP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from IDACORP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.82%.

Institutional Trading of IDACORP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in IDACORP by 10.9% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,924 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in IDACORP by 9.0% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,540 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in IDACORP by 9.4% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 52,999 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,937,000 after buying an additional 4,552 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in IDACORP by 1.7% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,445,991 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $134,694,000 after buying an additional 23,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,174 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 89.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IDACORP Company Profile

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.