Barclays PLC Grows Stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Barclays PLC increased its position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,211 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.18% of Otter Tail worth $5,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of OTTR. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Otter Tail Price Performance

OTTR traded down $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $79.14. 35,438 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 237,650. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.49. Otter Tail Co. has a 1 year low of $71.66 and a 1 year high of $100.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.73.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.75 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.29%.

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.