Vestcor Inc Purchases New Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of OTTR. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,484,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 359.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 55,210 shares during the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at $3,982,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 115,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,507,000 after purchasing an additional 43,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,947,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Otter Tail stock opened at $83.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.53. Otter Tail Co. has a 1 year low of $71.66 and a 1 year high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.75 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. This is a positive change from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.29%.

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.