Legal & General Group Plc Purchases 86,000 Shares of Ormat Technologies, Inc. $ORA

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc boosted its Ormat Technologies stake by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 86,000 more shares and bringing its total holding to 691,478 shares worth about $76.4 million.
• Ormat Technologies reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.30 topping estimates by $0.38 and revenue of $403.9 million, up 75.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, while analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $133.18.

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Free Report) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 691,478 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 86,000 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 1.14% of Ormat Technologies worth $76,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ORA. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Ormat Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in Ormat Technologies by 1,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 360 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Ormat Technologies by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 371 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Ormat Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ormat Technologies by 251.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 523 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. 95.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ormat Technologies Price Performance

ORA stock opened at $136.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $118.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.45, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.80. Ormat Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.05 and a 52-week high of $141.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Ormat Technologies's payout ratio is 23.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ORA. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $106.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.18.

Insider Transactions at Ormat Technologies

In other news, Director David Granot sold 1,766 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total transaction of $237,403.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $237,403.38. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stanley Stern sold 250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.42, for a total transaction of $34,605.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,836. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,444,618. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ORA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.