First Trust Advisors LP Trims Position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 682,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,286 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.63% of Otter Tail worth $50,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of OTTR. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Otter Tail by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 6,649 shares in the last quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth approximately $234,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 273,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $20,209,000 after buying an additional 10,250 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 370.5% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 27,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,057,000 after acquiring an additional 21,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Otter Tail by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,595,000 after acquiring an additional 5,211 shares during the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Otter Tail Stock Down 0.0 %

OTTR traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $77.87. 43,605 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 236,813. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $79.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.72. Otter Tail Co. has a 12-month low of $71.66 and a 12-month high of $100.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. The company had revenue of $303.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $314.75 million. Analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is 29.29%.

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.