KBC Group NV Purchases 48,689 Shares of Ormat Technologies, Inc. $ORA

KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) by 53.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,054 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 48,689 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ormat Technologies were worth $15,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,910,292 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $211,036,000 after acquiring an additional 43,749 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ormat Technologies by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,360 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $178,033,000 after purchasing an additional 102,864 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Ormat Technologies by 32.7% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,147,863 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $128,469,000 after purchasing an additional 282,583 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Ormat Technologies by 62.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,073,639 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $89,928,000 after purchasing an additional 413,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Ormat Technologies by 155.8% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 886,526 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $97,935,000 after purchasing an additional 540,000 shares in the last quarter. 95.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ormat Technologies Trading Up 1.5%

ORA opened at $105.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.94. The company has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Ormat Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.13 and a 52 week high of $146.39.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $403.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.17 million. Ormat Technologies had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 6.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 75.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Ormat Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Ormat Technologies’s payout ratio is 23.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Ormat Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ormat Technologies from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ormat Technologies from $106.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ormat Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.75.

Insider Activity at Ormat Technologies

In related news, CFO Assi Ginzburg sold 17,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.75, for a total value of $2,395,316.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,970 shares in the company, valued at $265,457.50. This trade represents a 90.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michal Marom sold 3,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.97, for a total value of $403,387.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,293.02. The trade was a 63.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,585 shares of company stock worth $4,090,998 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ormat Technologies Profile

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.