Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $2.90 Million Position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 19,975 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.09% of Otter Tail worth $2,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Otter Tail by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 52,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,851,000 after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the 3rd quarter valued at about $238,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth approximately $455,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 359.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 55,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Otter Tail by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 536,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,618,000 after purchasing an additional 27,415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Otter Tail Stock Up 0.9 %

Otter Tail stock traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.38. The stock had a trading volume of 360,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,433. Otter Tail Co. has a 1-year low of $71.66 and a 1-year high of $100.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.03. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $79.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.49.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.04. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The business had revenue of $303.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.75 million. As a group, analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. This is an increase from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Otter Tail's payout ratio is currently 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.