Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.15 EPS

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.15, Zacks reports. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 21.34%.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of OTTR stock traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $90.16. 500,473 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,885. Otter Tail has a fifty-two week low of $74.15 and a fifty-two week high of $95.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OTTR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Siebert Williams Shank cut 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Otter Tail from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Otter Tail

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 538.3% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 32,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 27,353 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth about $2,831,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Otter Tail by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 146,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,840,000 after purchasing an additional 16,235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

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.