Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $80.19, but opened at $76.75. Ormat Technologies shares last traded at $75.05, with a volume of 422,290 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ormat Technologies from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Ormat Technologies in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ormat Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Ormat Technologies Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.99, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.53. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The energy company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. Ormat Technologies had a return on equity of 5.27% and a net margin of 13.33%. The business had revenue of $211.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ormat Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Ormat Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 24.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ormat Technologies

In other Ormat Technologies news, major shareholder Corp Orix sold 3,700,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $278,906,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,976,077 shares in the company, valued at $224,336,684.26. This trade represents a 55.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Granot sold 1,256 shares of Ormat Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.00, for a total value of $102,992.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,232. The trade was a 25.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,702,522 shares of company stock worth $279,103,917 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ormat Technologies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ORA. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in Ormat Technologies by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,446,624 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $188,125,000 after acquiring an additional 140,882 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ormat Technologies by 6.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,450,797 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $104,030,000 after purchasing an additional 86,291 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Ormat Technologies by 2.0% in the second quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,322,936 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $94,855,000 after purchasing an additional 25,799 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ormat Technologies by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301,291 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $100,140,000 after buying an additional 22,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ormat Technologies by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 560,029 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $40,154,000 after buying an additional 15,004 shares in the last quarter. 95.49% of the stock is currently owned by 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.