Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes $306,000 Position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $596,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 46.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 1.4% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 21,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,839,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 1.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 435,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,102,000 after buying an additional 4,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of OTTR opened at $76.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Otter Tail Co. has a one year low of $73.43 and a one year high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm had revenue of $338.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.468 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is presently 25.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

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.