Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth about $455,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the third quarter worth approximately $711,000. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Trading Down 1.1 %

OTTR opened at $77.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.41. Otter Tail Co. has a one year low of $71.66 and a one year high of $100.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $338.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.20 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 22.70%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.468 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is 25.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Otter Tail Company 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.