Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Boosts Stock Position in Ormat Technologies, Inc. $ORA

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board significantly increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 7,951.9%, now holding approximately $46.73 million worth of shares.
• Ormat Technologies reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.48 and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share on September 3rd.
• Equities research analysts have varying outlooks on Ormat Technologies, with price targets ranging from $75 to $105 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Free Report) by 7,951.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 660,255 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 652,055 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 1.09% of Ormat Technologies worth $46,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ORA. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Ormat Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Ormat Technologies by 42.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 880 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ormat Technologies by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 890 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 294.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 887 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Ormat Technologies by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,072 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 95.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ormat Technologies

In related news, insider Jessica Woelfel sold 692 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total transaction of $65,442.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $494,979.38. This trade represents a 11.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dafna Sharir sold 1,601 shares of Ormat Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $137,093.63. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $277,269.94. This trade represents a 33.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,976 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,067. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ormat Technologies from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $98.00 price objective (up previously from $88.00) on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird raised Ormat Technologies from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $87.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ormat Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.30.

Ormat Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE ORA traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $90.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 112,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 515,192. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.53. Ormat Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.58 and a 52 week high of $95.36. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.69.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.11. Ormat Technologies had a return on equity of 5.47% and a net margin of 14.49%.The firm had revenue of $234.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $225.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Ormat Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.33%.

Ormat Technologies 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.