JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $49.63 Million Stake in Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 77.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 605,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 264,009 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.44% of Otter Tail worth $49,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OTTR. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,046,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Otter Tail in the third quarter worth approximately $1,115,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Otter Tail in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,143,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,602,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,464,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $120,054,000 after buying an additional 221,039 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

OTTR opened at $84.20 on Friday. Otter Tail Corporation has a 1-year low of $71.79 and a 1-year high of $90.41. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $308.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $311.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.5775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Otter Tail from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Otter Tail presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Otter Tail Company Profile

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.