Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 20.8% in March to 4,080,357 shares (about 6.7% of shares outstanding), with a days-to-cover ratio of roughly 3.1 days as of March 31.
• Insider selling: Jessica Woelfel sold 2,359 shares on March 3 at $105.16 (a 40.7% reduction in her stake); insiders have sold 3,364 shares in the last 90 days and own just 0.56% of the company.
• Institutions increased exposure: AQR boosted its stake by 324.1% and UBS added 43,483 shares, leaving institutional ownership at 95.49%; the company also reported quarterly revenue of $276.0M (beating estimates) and 19.6% year-over-year revenue growth with EPS of $0.67.

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,080,357 shares, an increase of 20.8% from the March 15th total of 3,378,029 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,314,649 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jessica Woelfel sold 2,359 shares of Ormat Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total value of $248,072.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,433 shares in the company, valued at $361,014.28. This trade represents a 40.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,364 shares of company stock valued at $353,621. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ormat Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ormat Technologies by 324.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,918 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 19,043 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Ormat Technologies by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the energy company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 22.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 234,467 shares of the energy company's stock worth $16,593,000 after acquiring an additional 43,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 10.5% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,592 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.49% of the company's stock.

Ormat Technologies Stock Down 1.0%

Ormat Technologies stock opened at $112.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.05, a PEG ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average price is $113.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.52. Ormat Technologies has a 52 week low of $70.02 and a 52 week high of $132.58.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.67. The company had revenue of $276.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $257.75 million. Ormat Technologies had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The business's revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ormat Technologies will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Ormat Technologies's payout ratio is currently 23.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Ormat Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $125.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Roth Mkm set a $139.00 target price on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $108.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.64.

About Ormat Technologies

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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