Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Upgraded at Siebert Williams Shank

Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OTTR opened at $79.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.62 and its 200-day moving average is $85.63. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.17. Otter Tail has a 52-week low of $73.43 and a 52-week high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm had revenue of $338.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Otter Tail will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.468 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is 25.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Otter Tail news, VP Jennifer O. Smestad sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.74, for a total transaction of $354,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,300 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,502. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otter Tail

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 3.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,238,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $452,607,000 after purchasing an additional 197,617 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 0.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,035,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $90,703,000 after purchasing an additional 3,974 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Otter Tail by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 435,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,102,000 after buying an additional 4,862 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Otter Tail by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 143,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,532,000 after buying an additional 4,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,129,000. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Company 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.