NorthRock Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 139.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,682 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Otter Tail were worth $593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Otter Tail by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Otter Tail by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Otter Tail by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Otter Tail by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Otter Tail by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Otter Tail from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Otter Tail Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:OTTR traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.77. The stock had a trading volume of 236,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,828. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $71.66 and a 1-year high of $100.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.72. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

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

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.