Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Ormat Technologies hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $133.56 after recently closing at $126.20, reflecting a strong short-term move in the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with eight Buy ratings and four Hold ratings; the consensus price target is about $131.64, close to the current trading level.
• The company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, posting $1.30 EPS versus $0.92 expected and revenue of $403.91 million, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share.

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $133.56 and last traded at $131.0340, with a volume of 505985 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $126.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Ormat Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ormat Technologies from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ormat Technologies in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ormat Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.64.

Ormat Technologies Stock Up 6.5%

The company has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock's fifty day moving average is $112.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.84.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $403.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.17 million. Ormat Technologies had a return on equity of 6.61% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 75.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Ormat Technologies's payout ratio is 23.30%.

Insider Transactions at Ormat Technologies

In other Ormat Technologies news, insider Jessica Woelfel sold 2,359 shares of Ormat Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total transaction of $248,072.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $361,014.28. The trade was a 40.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dafna Sharir sold 883 shares of Ormat Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.44, for a total transaction of $108,114.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at $384,461.60. This represents a 21.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 4,247 shares of company stock valued at $461,735 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ormat Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ormat Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $86,545,000. 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 valued at $97,935,000 after buying an additional 540,000 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 valued at $89,928,000 after buying an additional 413,384 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,147,863 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $128,469,000 after buying an additional 282,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ormat Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,310,000. 95.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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