Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $92.60 and last traded at $92.23, with a volume of 36113 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded Otter Tail from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Otter Tail Trading Up 0.8%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.10. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $347.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $339.10 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 21.34%.Otter Tail’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Research analysts predict that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.5775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

Institutional Trading of Otter Tail

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 248.8% in 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 during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.