Sifting through countless of stocks in the Electric Utilities industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc.

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; and three natural gas-fired plants situated in southern Idaho, as well as interests in a coal-fired and natural gas-fired steam generating plant located in Wyoming; and interests in a coal-fired steam generating plant situated in Nevada. As of December 31, 2025, it had approximately 4,730 pole miles of high-voltage transmission lines; 23 step-up transmission substations located at power plants; 21 transmission substations; 12 switching stations; 31 mixed-use transmission and distribution substations; 188 energized distribution substations; approximately 30,020 linear miles of distribution lines; and a capacity of 1,228 MWh of battery storage. The company provides electric utility services to approximately 664,000 retail customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. It serves commercial and industrial customers, which involved in food processing, electronics and general manufacturing, agriculture, health care, government, education, and information technology. The company also invests in housing and other real estate tax credit investments. IDACORP, Inc. was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

MGE Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility Operations; Regulated Gas Utility Operations; Nonregulated Energy Operations; Transmission Investments; and All Other segments. The company generates, purchases, and distributes electricity; purchases and distributes natural gas; owns and leases electric generating capacity; and plans, constructs, operates, maintains, and expands transmission facilities to provide transmission power services. It also generates electricity from coal-fired, gas-fired, and renewable energy sources and provides solar and wind generation, and battery storage services. As of December 31, 2025, the company owned and operated 811 miles of overhead electric distribution lines; 1,386 miles of underground electric distribution cables; 47 substations with an installed capacity of 1.2 million kVA; and gas facilities, including 3,117 miles of distribution mains, as well as supplied electric service to approximately 170,000 customers. MGE Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

Latest Electric Utilities and IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy, Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, IDACORP, Inc. had a $7.8 billion market capitalization, compared to the Electric Utilities median of $18.1 million. IDACORP, Inc.’s stock is up 7% in 2026, down 1.7% in the previous five trading days and up 8.42% in the past year.

Currently, IDACORP, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 22.4. IDACORP, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.8 billion with a 18.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.377 per share for the current fiscal year. IDACORP, Inc. currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, MGE Energy, Inc. had a $2.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 59th percentile of all stocks. MGE Energy, Inc.’s stock is down 1.6% in 2026, down 1.6% in the previous five trading days and down 9.11% in the past year.

Currently, MGE Energy, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 18.9. MGE Energy, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $752.1 million with a 19.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.967 per share for the current fiscal year. MGE Energy, Inc. currently has a 2.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
IDACORP, Inc.	IDA	D
MGE Energy, Inc.	MGEE	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

IDACORP, Inc. has a Value Score of 35, which is Expensive. MGE Energy, Inc. has a Value Score of 43, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
IDACORP, Inc.	IDA	A
MGE Energy, Inc.	MGEE	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

IDACORP, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. MGE Energy, Inc. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: IDACORP, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, IDACORP, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than MGE Energy, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, IDACORP, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
IDACORP, Inc.	IDA	C
MGE Energy, Inc.	MGEE	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

IDACORP, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 49, which is Neutral. MGE Energy, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 61, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: MGE Energy, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, MGE Energy, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than IDACORP, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, MGE Energy, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Growth and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy or Inc. Stock?

Overall, IDACORP, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 35, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 49.

MGE Energy, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 43, Growth Score of 77 and Estimate Revisions Score of 61.

Comparing IDACORP, Inc., MGE Energy and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.