Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) Stock Price

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) had its price target reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $129.00 to $118.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the energy company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.57% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $102.00 to $116.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim raised IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on IDACORP from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, IDACORP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.20.

IDACORP Stock Performance

Shares of IDA stock traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $108.69. 298,058 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,421. The company has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $112.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.22. IDACORP has a 1 year low of $86.43 and a 1 year high of $120.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDACORP

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IDA. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in IDACORP in the second quarter valued at $243,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in IDACORP by 3.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 18,517 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in IDACORP during the second quarter worth approximately $224,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in IDACORP during the second quarter worth approximately $1,193,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in IDACORP by 34.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 201,545 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $18,774,000 after purchasing an additional 51,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.