Blue Trust Inc. Buys 497 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 497 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OTTR. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 8,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Otter Tail by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Otter Tail by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at $455,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Otter Tail by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the period. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Stock Up 3.5 %

OTTR opened at $78.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.73 and a 200-day moving average of $80.71. Otter Tail Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.66 and a fifty-two week high of $100.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.57.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The business had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 25.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

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.