Studio Investment Management LLC Makes New $50,000 Investment in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Otter Tail by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Otter Tail by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Up 1.6%

OTTR stock opened at $79.90 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.71. Otter Tail Co. has a 12 month low of $71.66 and a 12 month high of $100.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.56.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $337.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.70 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank raised Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Otter Tail Profile

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.