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

Key Points

• Ormat Technologies reached a new 12-month high of $93.26 during trading, indicating a strong market performance with a closing price of $92.31.
• Several brokerages have issued positive ratings and increased their target prices for the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.30.
• The company reported a 9.9% increase in revenue year-over-year for the last quarter, with earnings per share surpassing analysts' expectations at $0.48 compared to the consensus estimate of $0.37.

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $93.26 and last traded at $92.31, with a volume of 572973 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ORA. Baird R W raised Ormat Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ormat Technologies from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ormat Technologies from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Ormat Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ormat Technologies from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.30.

Ormat Technologies Stock Up 2.5%

The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $87.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $0.48 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ormat Technologies

In other news, Director Dafna Sharir sold 1,601 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,269.94. This represents a 33.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Byron G. Wong sold 535 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 8,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 a total of 4,038 shares of company stock worth $337,192 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ormat Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ormat Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in Ormat Technologies by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 7,087 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Ormat Technologies by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,586,479 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $107,440,000 after purchasing an additional 93,418 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Ormat Technologies by 189.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,120 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Ormat Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.49% of the company's stock.

Ormat Technologies Company Profile

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.