Swiss National Bank Reduces Position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.18% of Otter Tail worth $5,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of OTTR. Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 132.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 1,811.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on OTTR. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Otter Tail Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ OTTR opened at $80.88 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.93. Otter Tail Co. has a 12 month low of $73.43 and a 12 month high of $100.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.52.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company had revenue of $338.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.468 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.83%.

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.