The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $1.76 Million Investment in Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 19,564 Otter Tail shares worth approximately $1.76 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 61.32% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with four Hold ratings and one Sell rating, resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $86.
• Otter Tail exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.66 in EPS versus the $1.51 estimate, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.5775 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 19,564 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,760,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OTTR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Otter Tail in the 2nd quarter valued at about $590,053,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Otter Tail by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 536,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,390,000 after purchasing an additional 367,869 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the second quarter worth about $32,238,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 344,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,811,000 after purchasing an additional 179,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Otter Tail by 465.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 137,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,281,000 after purchasing an additional 113,276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Otter Tail from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of Otter Tail in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Otter Tail from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Otter Tail currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.00.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OTTR opened at $89.27 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.23 and a 200 day moving average of $88.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 0.44. Otter Tail Corporation has a 12 month low of $74.15 and a 12 month high of $95.09.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $334.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.13 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.5775 per share. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Otter Tail's payout ratio is presently 49.78%.

Otter Tail Profile

Otter Tail Corporation, through its primary subsidiary Otter Tail Power Company, is a regulated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The company operates a diversified portfolio of owned and contracted power generation facilities, including coal, natural gas, wind and hydroelectric units, supplemented by long-term power purchase agreements. In addition to utility operations, Otter Tail provides related engineering, construction and maintenance services to support grid reliability and efficiency.

The company's service territory covers a predominantly rural footprint in the Upper Midwest, including communities in west-central Minnesota, eastern North Dakota, northwest Wisconsin and small portions of South Dakota.

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