Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stake in Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR)

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

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OTTR. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 52,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at $2,672,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,629 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Otter Tail Price Performance

OTTR stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.27. The stock had a trading volume of 227,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,104. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Otter Tail Corporation has a 52 week low of $71.66 and a 52 week high of $92.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.87.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.85 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 16.85%. The business had revenue of $333.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Otter Tail's payout ratio is presently 30.88%.

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.