International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires 185,702 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 8,231.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 185,702 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.45% of Otter Tail worth $15,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at $130,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter valued at $152,000. Finally, CI Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of OTTR stock traded up $0.77 on Friday, hitting $87.82. 106,788 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,861. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.56. Otter Tail Co. has a 52 week low of $68.96 and a 52 week high of $99.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $314.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.60 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 21.64%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a $0.468 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. This is a boost from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Otter Tail's payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

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.