Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,080,357 shares, a growth of 20.8% from the March 15th total of 3,378,029 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,314,649 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Ormat Technologies Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:ORA opened at $113.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.65. Ormat Technologies has a 52 week low of $70.02 and a 52 week high of $132.58. The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.80.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. Ormat Technologies had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 12.52%.The company had revenue of $276.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. Ormat Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ormat Technologies will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Ormat Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jessica Woelfel sold 2,359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total value of $248,072.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,014.28. This represents a 40.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 3,364 shares of company stock valued at $353,621 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORA. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ormat Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,545,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 155.8% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 886,526 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $97,935,000 after purchasing an additional 540,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 62.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,073,639 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $89,928,000 after purchasing an additional 413,384 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ormat Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,310,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 102.6% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 294,748 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $32,549,000 after purchasing an additional 149,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Ormat Technologies from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Ormat Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ormat Technologies from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ormat Technologies from $108.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ormat Technologies from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ormat Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.64.

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.