KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Position in Ormat Technologies, Inc. $ORA

Key Points

• KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Ormat Technologies by 53.9% in the first quarter, buying an additional 48,689 shares and bringing its total holding to 139,054 shares worth about $15.6 million.
• Several other hedge funds also increased positions, and institutional investors now own 95.49% of Ormat’s stock. Meanwhile, company insiders have been selling shares, including directors Michal Marom and Byron G. Wong.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on ORA, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.75. Ormat also recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.30 EPS on revenue of $403.91 million.

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Free Report) by 53.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,054 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,689 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.23% of Ormat Technologies worth $15,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ormat Technologies by 155.8% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 886,526 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $97,935,000 after acquiring an additional 540,000 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ormat Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,319,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Ormat Technologies by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 90,753 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $10,025,000 after purchasing an additional 30,910 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ormat Technologies by 259.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 71,830 shares of the energy company's stock worth $7,935,000 after purchasing an additional 51,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ormat Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $4,835,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ormat Technologies

In related news, Director Michal Marom sold 3,080 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.97, for a total value of $403,387.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $231,293.02. The trade was a 63.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Byron G. Wong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.32, for a total transaction of $604,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $795,846. This trade represents a 43.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,585 shares of company stock worth $4,090,998 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ORA. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ormat Technologies in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ormat Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ormat Technologies from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ormat Technologies from $126.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ormat Technologies from $106.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.75.

Ormat Technologies Stock Performance

ORA opened at $105.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Ormat Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.13 and a 1-year high of $146.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $403.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.17 million. Ormat Technologies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 6.61%. The company's revenue was up 75.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Ormat Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.30%.

Ormat Technologies Company Profile

Ormat Technologies, Inc is a leading renewable energy company specializing in geothermal and recovered energy power plants. Through its vertically integrated business model, Ormat designs, develops, engineers, constructs, owns and operates clean energy projects worldwide. The company's core technology centers on the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), which converts heat from geothermal sources or industrial waste streams into sustainable electricity without combustion.

Ormat's offering includes turnkey power plant solutions, proprietary ORC equipment and ongoing operations and maintenance services.

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