44,000 Shares in Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR Purchased by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 44,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,556,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc owned approximately 0.10% of Otter Tail at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Otter Tail by 195.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Otter Tail by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ:OTTR opened at $83.62 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $87.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 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. Otter Tail Corporation has a 52-week low of $74.15 and a 52-week high of $92.24.

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

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.5775 dividend. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on OTTR shares. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Otter Tail from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “reduce” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered Otter Tail from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.