Zacks Research Upgrades Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) from a "hold" to "Strong-Buy", even as Weiss Ratings trimmed its view to a "hold"; the consensus analyst rating remains a Buy with a $83.00 price target.
• Otter Tail beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.23 versus $1.16 expected, while revenue of $308.1 million slightly missed consensus; the company reported a 21.16% net margin and 15.36% return on equity.
• Shares trade near $88.16 with a market capitalization of about $3.7 billion and a P/E of 13.44, and institutional investors own roughly 61.3% of the stock.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Otter Tail from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Otter Tail Stock Down 1.4%

OTTR stock opened at $88.16 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $87.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 1.83. Otter Tail has a 12 month low of $73.74 and a 12 month high of $92.24.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $308.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Otter Tail will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Otter Tail

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,737 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 14.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 14,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 1.5% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

About Otter Tail

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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