Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 20,518 Shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has significantly decreased its holdings in Otter Tail Corporation by 50.5%, now owning 20,100 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• In contrast, Allspring Global Investments and Farther Finance Advisors have increased their stakes in Otter Tail, with Allspring raising its stake by 51.5% and Farther Finance by an extraordinary 1,116.4%.
• Otter Tail reported $1.62 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, but its revenue decreased by 2.8% year-over-year.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 50.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 20,518 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 71,601 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Otter Tail by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 411,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,369,000 after acquiring an additional 48,888 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Otter Tail by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 291,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $21,513,000 after acquiring an additional 96,573 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Otter Tail by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 273,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $20,209,000 after acquiring an additional 10,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 231,561 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,611,000 after buying an additional 5,574 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of OTTR stock traded up $4.72 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.94. 525,998 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 197,203. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm's 50-day moving average is $77.86 and its 200 day moving average is $78.73. Otter Tail Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.66 and a 1 year high of $96.79.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The business had revenue of $333.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

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.