Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $78.53 and last traded at $78.43, with a volume of 158405 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ormat Technologies from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ormat Technologies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.67.

Ormat Technologies Stock Up 2.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.18.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $212.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.07 million. Ormat Technologies had a return on equity of 5.40% and a net margin of 14.89%. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Ormat Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Ormat Technologies’s payout ratio is 21.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ormat Technologies news, Director Byron G. Wong sold 1,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.98, for a total transaction of $94,924.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $517,811.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Byron G. Wong sold 1,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.98, for a total transaction of $94,924.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,906 shares in the company, valued at $517,811.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dafna Sharir sold 433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $32,436.03. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $266,754.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ormat Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORA. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 107.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 617 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ormat Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ormat Technologies by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 730 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ormat Technologies by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,540 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $246,000. 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.