Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,552 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 359.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,514,000 after buying an additional 55,210 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Otter Tail by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,714,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth approximately $455,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,541 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Otter Tail Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OTTR traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.77. 236,678 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 241,828. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Otter Tail Co. has a 52-week low of $71.66 and a 52-week high of $100.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company's 50 day moving average price is $79.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.71.

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

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Otter Tail's payout ratio is 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.