Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $77.75 and last traded at $77.6750, with a volume of 131,271 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on OTTR. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Otter Tail from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.00.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $88.16 and its 200 day moving average is $88.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57 and a beta of 0.42.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $320.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.87 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 13.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.86 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.5775 dividend. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is 55.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otter Tail

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $590,053,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,578,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,238,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in 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 worth $29,533,000 after buying an additional 11,363 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Otter Tail by 16.2% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

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.