Financial Perspectives Inc Acquires Shares of 1,036 Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Financial Perspectives Inc bought a new stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $88,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 48,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 10.0% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 70.6% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OTTR traded up $0.76 on Tuesday, hitting $85.04. The company had a trading volume of 171,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 257,232. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a 52-week low of $68.96 and a 52-week high of $99.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $85.14 and a 200 day moving average of $82.57. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.56.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.03. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 21.64% and a net margin of 21.81%. The business had revenue of $314.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.468 dividend. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Otter Tail Profile

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.