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

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

Ormat Technologies Stock Performance

ORA stock opened at $112.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.52. Ormat Technologies has a 52 week low of $70.02 and a 52 week high of $132.58.

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

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ormat Technologies

In other news, insider Jessica Woelfel sold 2,359 shares of Ormat Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total value of $248,072.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,014.28. This trade represents a 40.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 3,364 shares of company stock valued at $353,621 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ormat Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ormat Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Ormat Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ormat Technologies by 245.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in Ormat Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ormat Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 95.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ORA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $108.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $139.00 price target on shares of Ormat Technologies in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.