Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys 12,318 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,318 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Otter Tail worth $2,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OTTR. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth about $81,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Otter Tail by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Otter Tail by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,606 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Otter Tail Trading Up 1.6%

OTTR traded up $1.27 on Friday, hitting $79.90. The company had a trading volume of 183,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,294. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.56. Otter Tail Co. has a 12-month low of $71.66 and a 12-month high of $100.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $79.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.71.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $337.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.70 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Otter Tail's payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded Otter Tail from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research 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.