Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Purchases 140,044 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 168.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 223,005 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 140,044 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.53% of Otter Tail worth $16,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Otter Tail stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $76.76. 54,521 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.03. Otter Tail Co. has a 12-month low of $71.66 and a 12-month high of $100.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $79.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.73.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $337.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.70 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. The company's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.