Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $88.80 and last traded at $88.50, with a volume of 16397 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on OTTR shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Otter Tail to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Otter Tail currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.00.

Otter Tail Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.82.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $325.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $337.40 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 15.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.5775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 31.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Otter Tail

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 264,009 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Otter Tail by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,464,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $120,054,000 after purchasing an additional 221,039 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 465.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 137,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,281,000 after buying an additional 113,276 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 183.2% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 169,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,859,000 after buying an additional 109,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 31.6% in the 2nd 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 during the period. 61.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.