Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.14.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ormat Technologies from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Ormat Technologies in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Ormat Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $86.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ormat Technologies to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Ormat Technologies Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ORA opened at $84.09 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.82. Ormat Technologies has a 52-week low of $61.58 and a 52-week high of $86.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 40.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.60.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The energy company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.10. Ormat Technologies had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The company had revenue of $229.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ormat Technologies will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Ormat Technologies’s payout ratio is 23.30%.

Insider Activity at Ormat Technologies

In related news, Director David Granot sold 950 shares of Ormat Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $69,445.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,320.30. The trade was a 25.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dafna Sharir sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $65,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $332,850. The trade was a 16.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,888 shares of company stock worth $212,865. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ormat Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $265,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ormat Technologies by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 131,906 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,933,000 after buying an additional 7,025 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Ormat Technologies by 896.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 155,906 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,558,000 after buying an additional 140,262 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 348.9% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 165,599 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,214,000 after buying an additional 128,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,415,479 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $162,586,000 after buying an additional 163,505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.49% of the company’s stock.

Ormat Technologies Company Profile

Ormat Technologies, Inc engages in the geothermal and recovered energy power business in the United States, Indonesia, Kenya, Turkey, Chile, Guatemala, Guadeloupe, New Zealand, Honduras, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Electricity, Product, and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment develops, builds, owns, and operates geothermal, solar photovoltaic, and recovered energy-based power plants; and sells electricity.