Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Otter Tail Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Otter Tail stock traded up $1.21 on Thursday, reaching $80.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 226,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,346. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Otter Tail has a 52 week low of $73.43 and a 52 week high of $100.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.54.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.20 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 22.70%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.19 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Otter Tail will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.468 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 25.83%.

Institutional Trading of Otter Tail

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 3.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,238,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $452,607,000 after purchasing an additional 197,617 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the second quarter worth $11,129,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,484,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 3,339.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,974,000 after buying an additional 74,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 2,055.2% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 67,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,929,000 after buying an additional 64,554 shares during the period. 61.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Otter Tail

Otter Tail Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in electric utility, manufacturing, and plastic pipe businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric, Manufacturing, and Plastics. The Electric segment produces, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; and operates as a participant in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator markets.