Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OTTR. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 14.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Otter Tail by 3,339.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,974,000 after buying an additional 74,212 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 132.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 6.1% during the third quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 8,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 39.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 439 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 NASDAQ:OTTR opened at $81.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.66. 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 $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.27.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.04. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The business had revenue of $303.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.75 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. This is a positive change from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OTTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

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.