Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Reduces Position in Ormat Technologies, Inc. $ORA

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its holdings in Ormat Technologies, Inc. by 5.9%, after selling 3,122 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with approximately 49,635 shares valued at $3.5 million.
• Despite the reduction in holdings by some investors, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. significantly increased its stake by 273,109.4%, acquiring almost 956,233 shares valued at approximately $67.7 million.
• Ormat Technologies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, payable on September 3rd for shareholders of record as of August 20th.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its holdings in Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,635 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 3,122 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned about 0.08% of Ormat Technologies worth $3,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORA. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in Ormat Technologies by 273,109.4% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 956,233 shares of the energy company's stock worth $67,673,000 after acquiring an additional 955,883 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Ormat Technologies by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,890,235 shares of the energy company's stock worth $133,770,000 after acquiring an additional 303,756 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Ormat Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $14,453,000. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Ormat Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $10,158,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Ormat Technologies by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 259,258 shares of the energy company's stock worth $18,348,000 after acquiring an additional 103,352 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ormat Technologies

In related news, Director Dafna Sharir sold 1,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $137,093.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $277,269.94. This represents a 33.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Byron G. Wong sold 535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $48,893.65. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $791,346.01. This trade represents a 5.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,038 shares of company stock worth $337,192 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Ormat Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ORA stock traded up $2.2990 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.8990. 584,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 547,319. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.65 and a 200 day moving average of $76.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Ormat Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.58 and a 52-week high of $95.37. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 44.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.68.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.11. Ormat Technologies had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 5.47%. The business had revenue of $234.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Ormat Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 22.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ormat Technologies from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Ormat Technologies from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird raised Ormat Technologies from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ormat Technologies from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.30.

About Ormat Technologies

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.