Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases New Position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 168.8% during the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 223,005 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,467,000 after purchasing an additional 140,044 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 291,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,513,000 after purchasing an additional 96,573 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 189,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,981,000 after purchasing an additional 91,516 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 545,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,288,000 after purchasing an additional 71,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 359.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 55,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OTTR opened at $77.15 on Friday. Otter Tail Co. has a twelve month low of $71.66 and a twelve month high of $100.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.55. 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 (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' expectations of $349.70 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is 29.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.

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