Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Position Boosted by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 82.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 143,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,876 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.34% of Otter Tail worth $12,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 70.6% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the third quarter worth about $58,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth about $130,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the third quarter worth about $152,000. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of OTTR stock opened at $85.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.64. Otter Tail Co. has a one year low of $68.96 and a one year high of $99.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.56.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.03. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 21.64%. The firm had revenue of $314.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.468 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

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.