Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Position in Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 30.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 81,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,050 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $7,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in OTTR. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Otter Tail by 248.8% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Otter Tail by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Otter Tail in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Otter Tail in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of OTTR stock opened at $90.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.13. Otter Tail Corporation has a 52 week low of $74.15 and a 52 week high of $95.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.45.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.31. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The company had revenue of $347.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.5775 dividend. This represents a $2.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on OTTR shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “reduce” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of Otter Tail from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Otter Tail Company Profile

Otter Tail Corporation, through its primary subsidiary Otter Tail Power Company, is a regulated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The company operates a diversified portfolio of owned and contracted power generation facilities, including coal, natural gas, wind and hydroelectric units, supplemented by long-term power purchase agreements. In addition to utility operations, Otter Tail provides related engineering, construction and maintenance services to support grid reliability and efficiency.

The company’s service territory covers a predominantly rural footprint in the Upper Midwest, including communities in west-central Minnesota, eastern North Dakota, northwest Wisconsin and small portions of South Dakota.