ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 13,086 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Otter Tail worth $8,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Otter Tail by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,275,068 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $389,511,000 after buying an additional 43,186 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Otter Tail by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 545,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,288,000 after purchasing an additional 71,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Otter Tail by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 536,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,618,000 after purchasing an additional 27,415 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 411,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,369,000 after purchasing an additional 48,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Otter Tail by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,916,000 after purchasing an additional 8,993 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of Otter Tail stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.12. 22,961 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 241,443. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.66 and a fifty-two week high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

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.