Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 14,539 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,294 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 14,539 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.19% of Otter Tail worth $5,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in OTTR. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at $81,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Otter Tail by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

OTTR stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.82. 56,479 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 239,588. Otter Tail Co. has a 52 week low of $71.66 and a 52 week high of $100.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.56.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $337.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.70 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is 29.29%.

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.