Everence Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Everence Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,570 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 108.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,525,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $471,577,000 after buying an additional 3,390,987 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 2.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,678,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $287,851,000 after buying an additional 128,872 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Otter Tail by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,494,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,006,000 after purchasing an additional 19,124 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Otter Tail by 0.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,046,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,603,000 after purchasing an additional 8,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Otter Tail by 4.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 996,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,310,000 after purchasing an additional 44,571 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of OTTR stock opened at $82.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $85.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a 12-month low of $68.96 and a 12-month high of $99.49.

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

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.468 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This is a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

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.