Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 748 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of Otter Tail worth $2,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OTTR. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 8,231.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 187,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,971,000 after purchasing an additional 185,702 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 32.0% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 545,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,413,000 after purchasing an additional 132,162 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 10.7% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 116,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,807,000 after purchasing an additional 11,173 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter valued at about $698,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter valued at about $456,000. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ OTTR opened at $85.57 on Friday. Otter Tail Co. has a 12-month low of $68.96 and a 12-month high of $99.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.69.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $314.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.60 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 21.64%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.468 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

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.