Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on OTTR. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Siebert Williams Shank cut Otter Tail from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

OTTR opened at $87.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.03. Otter Tail has a fifty-two week low of $74.15 and a fifty-two week high of $92.24.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.31. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The business had revenue of $347.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $339.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Otter Tail will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.5775 dividend. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.63%.

Institutional Trading of Otter Tail

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 248.8% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 61.32% of the stock is currently 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.