Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings cut Otter Tail from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Otter Tail currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.00.

Otter Tail Price Performance

OTTR stock opened at $78.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.69. Otter Tail has a fifty-two week low of $77.79 and a fifty-two week high of $95.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $320.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.87 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 13.45% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Otter Tail will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter valued at $590,053,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,578,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,238,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 336,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,533,000 after purchasing an additional 11,363 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 231,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,353,000 after buying an additional 32,266 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Company Profile

Otter Tail Corporation is a diversified company based in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Its businesses operate in the electric utility, manufacturing and plastics industries.

Through Otter Tail Power Company, the corporation generates, transmits and distributes electricity to customers in parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The utility traces its history to 1907.

Its other businesses manufacture products such as metal components and fabricated assemblies, as well as plastic products for commercial and industrial applications.