SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Stock Position in Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 86.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,850 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $2,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of OTTR. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Otter Tail by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 14,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of OTTR opened at $89.66 on Thursday. Otter Tail Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $74.15 and a fifty-two week high of $92.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $347.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.10 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 21.34%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.5775 dividend. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on OTTR shares. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a report on Monday, June 1st. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded Otter Tail from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research lowered Otter Tail from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

About Otter Tail

Otter Tail Corporation, through its primary subsidiary Otter Tail Power Company, is a regulated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The company operates a diversified portfolio of owned and contracted power generation facilities, including coal, natural gas, wind and hydroelectric units, supplemented by long-term power purchase agreements. In addition to utility operations, Otter Tail provides related engineering, construction and maintenance services to support grid reliability and efficiency.

The company’s service territory covers a predominantly rural footprint in the Upper Midwest, including communities in west-central Minnesota, eastern North Dakota, northwest Wisconsin and small portions of South Dakota.