Royce & Associates LP Takes $2.49 Million Position in Ormat Technologies, Inc. $ORA

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP opened a new position in Ormat Technologies in the fourth quarter, buying 22,505 shares worth about $2.49 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: several firms lifted price targets, and the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $133.18.
• Ormat reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.30 versus $0.92 expected and revenue of $403.91 million, up 75.8% year over year.

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,505 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $2,486,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,866,543 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $179,651,000 after buying an additional 22,748 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,073,639 shares of the energy company's stock worth $89,928,000 after acquiring an additional 413,384 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 155.8% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 886,526 shares of the energy company's stock worth $97,935,000 after acquiring an additional 540,000 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,132 shares of the energy company's stock worth $72,296,000 after acquiring an additional 14,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 691,478 shares of the energy company's stock worth $76,388,000 after acquiring an additional 86,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ORA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ormat Technologies from $106.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Ormat Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on Ormat Technologies from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ormat Technologies from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ormat Technologies from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.18.

Insider Transactions at Ormat Technologies

In other news, insider Jessica Woelfel sold 2,359 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total value of $248,072.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,014.28. This represents a 40.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michal Marom sold 3,080 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.97, for a total value of $403,387.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $231,293.02. The trade was a 63.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,949 shares of company stock worth $4,444,618. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Ormat Technologies Price Performance

ORA opened at $136.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.15. Ormat Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.05 and a 12-month high of $141.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.45, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Ormat Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Ormat Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.30%.

Ormat Technologies 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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