Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Acquires 14,465 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 43.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,465 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.11% of Otter Tail worth $3,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OTTR traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.42. 187,738 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,655. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $79.47 and its 200 day moving average is $78.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.56. Otter Tail Co. has a one year low of $71.66 and a one year high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $337.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.70 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. Otter Tail's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.