Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 2,367 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in OTTR. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the third quarter worth $39,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at about $81,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Otter Tail by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of OTTR opened at $80.73 on Friday. Otter Tail Co. has a 1 year low of $71.66 and a 1 year high of $100.84. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.53.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $314.75 million. On average, analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.29%.

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.