Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Shares Sold by Phocas Financial Corp.

Phocas Financial Corp. trimmed its stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 85.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 87,037 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the third quarter valued at $589,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 285.1% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 19,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 14,089 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter worth $683,000. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the third quarter worth about $238,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the 4th quarter worth approximately $455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Down 0.1 %

OTTR stock opened at $81.45 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a 12 month low of $71.66 and a 12 month high of $100.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. The company had revenue of $303.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.75 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is currently 29.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on OTTR shares. StockNews.com raised Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 report 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.