Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Otter Tail Corporation by 1.9%, now owning approximately 5.17 million shares valued at $415.77 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Northern Trust Corp and Invesco Ltd., have increased their holdings in Otter Tail, indicating strong interest in the company.
• Siebert Williams Shank has upgraded Otter Tail from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, raising the target price from $82.00 to $83.00, following a recent earnings report that exceeded expectations.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,173,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 101,835 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.36% of Otter Tail worth $415,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 387 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Otter Tail by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Otter Tail by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,097 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Otter Tail by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Otter Tail by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,964 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Otter Tail from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $83.00.

Otter Tail Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Otter Tail stock traded down $1.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.17. 158,132 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,198. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $78.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.98. Otter Tail Corporation has a 12-month low of $71.66 and a 12-month high of $92.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.31 and a quick ratio of 2.57.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.60 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Otter Tail has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.060-6.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

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

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.