Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 11,103 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 24.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,103 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $4,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 1st quarter valued at $2,276,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 45.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 29,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,572,000 after acquiring an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the first quarter valued at about $590,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,634,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Otter Tail by 320.5% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 12,865 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jennifer O. Smestad sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.74, for a total transaction of $354,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,502. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Otter Tail stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.55. 197,577 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 199,305. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.55. Otter Tail Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.96 and a fifty-two week high of $100.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.38. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm had revenue of $342.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.468 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.