Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $73.22 and last traded at $73.41, with a volume of 43312 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OTTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.468 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Otter Tail by 285.1% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 19,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after buying an additional 14,089 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter valued at approximately $589,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter valued at approximately $683,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Otter Tail by 178,816.7% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 10,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter valued at $627,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

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.