Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Stock Position Cut by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Otter Tail worth $2,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Otter Tail by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,275,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $389,511,000 after purchasing an additional 43,186 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,598,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,941,000 after buying an additional 18,109 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Otter Tail by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 536,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,618,000 after buying an additional 27,415 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,916,000 after acquiring an additional 8,993 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Otter Tail by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 225,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,687,000 after acquiring an additional 9,088 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OTTR opened at $81.76 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a twelve month low of $71.66 and a twelve month high of $100.84.

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

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change 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 2.57%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 29.29%.

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.