CIBC Asset Management Inc Invests $213,000 in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in OTTR. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Otter Tail by 3,339.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,974,000 after purchasing an additional 74,212 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Otter Tail by 132.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. increased its position in Otter Tail by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 8,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Otter Tail by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Down 1.0 %

OTTR opened at $80.64 on Thursday. 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 market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.21. Otter Tail Co. has a 12 month low of $71.66 and a 12 month high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $314.75 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. On average, research analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 29.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on OTTR. StockNews.com upgraded Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

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.