Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR Stake Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 231,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,266 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $20,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 248.8% during the 1st 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 stake in Otter Tail by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Price Performance

NASDAQ OTTR opened at $90.57 on Wednesday. Otter Tail Corporation has a 52 week low of $74.15 and a 52 week high of $95.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $88.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.68.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $347.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $339.10 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 15.21%. Otter Tail’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.5775 dividend. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Otter Tail from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research lowered Otter Tail from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Otter Tail 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.