Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Otter Tail shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $90.92 and last trading at $90.78 versus the $89.42 average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: four analysts rate the stock Hold and one rates it Sell, resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $86.00.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with $1.66 in EPS versus $1.51 forecast and $334.38 million in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.5775, equivalent to a 2.5% yield.

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $89.42 and traded as high as $90.92. Otter Tail shares last traded at $90.78, with a volume of 144,168 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Otter Tail has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.00.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.60 and a 200-day moving average of $89.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $334.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $326.13 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The firm's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.5775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Otter Tail's payout ratio is presently 49.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter worth $1,611,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the second quarter worth $7,778,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the second quarter worth $7,674,000. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the second quarter worth $2,429,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the second quarter valued at $1,513,000. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Otter Tail

Otter Tail Corporation is a diversified company headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Through its electric utility subsidiary, Otter Tail Power Company, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.

Otter Tail Power Company serves customers across portions of western Minnesota, eastern North Dakota and northeastern South Dakota. Its generation portfolio includes coal, natural gas, wind and other energy resources, supporting the company's role as a regional provider of electric power and related utility services.

Beyond its utility operations, Otter Tail Corporation owns manufacturing businesses that produce fabricated metal components, plastic products and other specialized goods.

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