AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 114.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,779 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the first quarter valued at about $2,276,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 45.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 29,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the first quarter valued at approximately $590,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 320.5% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 12,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in Otter Tail by 113.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 41,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,560,000 after acquiring an additional 21,908 shares during the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Otter Tail

In related 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,502. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Otter Tail Price Performance

OTTR stock opened at $75.61 on Friday. Otter Tail Co. has a 52-week low of $68.96 and a 52-week high of $100.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.53.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $342.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.71 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 22.84%. Otter Tail’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.468 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.69%.

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.