Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Shares Sold by Bell Bank

Bell Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 19.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of OTTR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,238,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $452,607,000 after buying an additional 197,617 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Otter Tail by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,035,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,703,000 after acquiring an additional 3,974 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Otter Tail by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 435,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,102,000 after acquiring an additional 4,862 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 3.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 143,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,532,000 after purchasing an additional 4,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Otter Tail during the second quarter worth about $11,129,000. 61.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of Otter Tail stock opened at $80.31 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.54. Otter Tail Co. has a 1 year low of $73.43 and a 1 year high of $100.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $338.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.20 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.19 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.468 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 25.83%.

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.