Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Technical breakout: Otter Tail crossed above its 200-day moving average of $83.43, last trading at $87.12 and reaching an intraday high of $88.89.
• Analyst stance: Weiss Ratings recently downgraded the stock to a Hold and the consensus rating is Hold with a consensus target price of $83.00, below the current share price.
• Fundamentals & income: The company beat EPS expectations ($1.23 vs. $1.16) while revenue slightly missed, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5775 (annualized $2.31) for a ~2.7% yield.

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $83.43 and traded as high as $88.89. Otter Tail shares last traded at $87.12, with a volume of 286,167 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Otter Tail from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Otter Tail Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.56.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 21.16%.The firm had revenue of $308.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.5775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is 35.21%.

Institutional Trading of Otter Tail

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 17.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,464,613 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $120,054,000 after acquiring an additional 221,039 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,019,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $82,385,000 after buying an additional 4,164 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 77.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 605,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $49,633,000 after buying an additional 264,009 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 536,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,390,000 after buying an additional 367,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 31.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 409,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,542,000 after buying an additional 98,243 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Otter Tail Company Profile

Otter Tail Corporation, through its primary subsidiary Otter Tail Power Company, is a regulated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The company operates a diversified portfolio of owned and contracted power generation facilities, including coal, natural gas, wind and hydroelectric units, supplemented by long-term power purchase agreements. In addition to utility operations, Otter Tail provides related engineering, construction and maintenance services to support grid reliability and efficiency.

The company's service territory covers a predominantly rural footprint in the Upper Midwest, including communities in west-central Minnesota, eastern North Dakota, northwest Wisconsin and small portions of South Dakota.

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