Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 67,568 Shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 544,552 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,568 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.02% of IDACORP worth $59,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in IDACORP by 63.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in IDACORP by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,104 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of IDACORP by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,523 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of IDACORP in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 33.7% in the third quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 4,102 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

IDACORP Stock Performance

Shares of IDA opened at $112.08 on Thursday. 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 $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.65. IDACORP, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.47 and a 52-week high of $120.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.78.

IDACORP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. IDACORP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on IDA shares. Mizuho upgraded IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $116.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of IDACORP from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of IDACORP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of IDACORP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.20.

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.