Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Otter Tail from Hold to Sell. Despite mixed analyst calls, the overall consensus remains Hold, with a $91 target price.
• Otter Tail missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates: EPS was $1.41 versus $1.55 expected, while revenue of $320.51 million fell short of $327.87 million. Revenue declined 1.6% year over year.
• Shares opened at $78.44 and were down 2.0%; the stock was near its 12-month low of $77.79.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on OTTR. Weiss Ratings cut Otter Tail from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Otter Tail from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.00.

Otter Tail Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of OTTR stock opened at $78.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50 day moving average is $88.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.69. Otter Tail has a twelve month low of $77.79 and a twelve month high of $95.09.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.14). Otter Tail had a net margin of 13.45% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $320.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. Otter Tail's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Otter Tail will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Otter Tail

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the third quarter worth $25,000. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the second quarter worth $39,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Company Profile

Otter Tail Corporation is a diversified company headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Through its electric utility subsidiary, Otter Tail Power Company, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.

Otter Tail Power Company serves customers across portions of western Minnesota, eastern North Dakota and northeastern South Dakota. Its generation portfolio includes coal, natural gas, wind and other energy resources, supporting the company's role as a regional provider of electric power and related utility services.

Beyond its utility operations, Otter Tail Corporation owns manufacturing businesses that produce fabricated metal components, plastic products and other specialized goods.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.