Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 29.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $2,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,598,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,941,000 after buying an additional 18,109 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Otter Tail by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 509,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,794,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Otter Tail by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,916,000 after acquiring an additional 8,993 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 225,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,687,000 after purchasing an additional 9,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 108,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OTTR. StockNews.com upgraded Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of Otter Tail stock opened at $79.45 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a twelve month low of $71.66 and a twelve month high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. The firm had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.75 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is a positive change from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.29%.

About Otter Tail

Otter Tail Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in electric utility, manufacturing, and plastic pipe businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric, Manufacturing, and Plastics. The Electric segment produces, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; and operates as a participant in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator markets.