Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $1.12 Million in Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,828 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,120,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORA. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 5.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ormat Technologies by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,043,996 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $409,305,000 after acquiring an additional 274,540 shares in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $2,113,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $752,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ormat Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $526,000. 95.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ormat Technologies Stock Performance

Ormat Technologies stock traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.09. 1,234,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 486,108. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $74.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.76. Ormat Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.58 and a twelve month high of $86.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 40.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The energy company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.10. Ormat Technologies had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $229.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $228.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ormat Technologies

In related news, Director David Granot sold 950 shares of the company's 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 owns 2,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,320.30. This represents a 25.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michal Marom sold 895 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.47, for a total value of $65,755.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $226,287.60. This trade represents a 22.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,888 shares of company stock worth $212,865 over the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ORA shares. Barclays raised Ormat Technologies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ormat Technologies from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ormat Technologies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.14.

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.