Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Otter Tail Corporation by 27.3%, now owning 132,669 shares worth approximately $10.66 million.
• Otter Tail also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with a yield of 2.5% and an ex-dividend date set for August 15th.
• Analysts upgraded Otter Tail's rating from "hold" to "buy," raising the price target from $82.00 to $83.00.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,491 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of Otter Tail worth $10,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OTTR. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Otter Tail by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 52,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Otter Tail by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 17,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,313,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 96,573 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,672,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Otter Tail by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,629 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Otter Tail Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:OTTR traded up $0.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $82.67. The stock had a trading volume of 42,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,190. Otter Tail Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $71.66 and a fifty-two week high of $92.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.56.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is 30.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Otter Tail Company 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.