Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Stock Position Lifted by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $2,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OTTR. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter worth $39,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Otter Tail in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of OTTR opened at $82.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.53. Otter Tail Co. has a twelve month low of $71.66 and a twelve month high of $100.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.58.

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

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.29%.

Otter Tail Profile

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.