Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $87.20 and last traded at $86.32, with a volume of 501367 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ORA shares. Barclays raised shares of Ormat Technologies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $86.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Baird R W raised Ormat Technologies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Ormat Technologies in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ormat Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Ormat Technologies from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ormat Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.14.

Ormat Technologies Price Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $75.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.44, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.60.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The energy company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $229.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.33 million. Ormat Technologies had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 14.18%. Ormat Technologies's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Ormat Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dafna Sharir sold 1,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $137,093.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at $277,269.94. This represents a 33.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stanley Stern sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.54, for a total value of $46,790.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,137 shares in the company, valued at $524,958.98. This trade represents a 8.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,869 shares of company stock valued at $384,785. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ormat Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ormat Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 131,906 shares of the energy company's stock worth $8,933,000 after purchasing an additional 7,025 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,043,996 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $409,305,000 after buying an additional 274,540 shares in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $2,113,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $752,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ormat Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $526,000. 95.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.