Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) Announces $0.12 Quarterly Dividend

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.12 per share by the energy company on Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st.

Ormat Technologies has a dividend payout ratio of 18.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ormat Technologies to earn $2.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.0%.

Ormat Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORA opened at $74.97 on Monday. Ormat Technologies has a 1-year low of $61.58 and a 1-year high of $84.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.25, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.44 and its 200-day moving average is $71.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The energy company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $229.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.33 million. Ormat Technologies had a return on equity of 5.27% and a net margin of 13.33%. Ormat Technologies’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ormat Technologies will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ORA. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Ormat Technologies in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Ormat Technologies from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ormat Technologies from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Ormat Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Ormat Technologies from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ormat Technologies news, Director David Granot sold 950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $69,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,320.30. The trade was a 25.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jessica Woelfel sold 409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $29,509.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $439,682.10. The trade was a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,192 shares of company stock valued at $225,872. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ormat Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 324.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,918 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 19,043 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Ormat Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. 95.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.