Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $90.32 and last traded at $90.13, with a volume of 150100 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $89.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Otter Tail has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $86.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $308.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.15 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 21.16%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given 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 a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 35.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otter Tail

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 116,479 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,361,000 after acquiring an additional 2,807 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 26.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,815 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the first quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 190.8% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 54,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 35,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.