Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 9,088 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 225,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,088 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Otter Tail worth $16,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Otter Tail in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Otter Tail by 132.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 27.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Siebert Williams Shank raised Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of Otter Tail stock opened at $81.45 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $77.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.57. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. The business had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $314.75 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. 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 payout ratio is presently 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.