StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $63.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, November 28th.

Otter Tail Price Performance

NASDAQ OTTR opened at $69.91 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.17 and its 200-day moving average is $63.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.50. Otter Tail has a 12-month low of $52.60 and a 12-month high of $82.46.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.438 per share. This is a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 13th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Otter Tail by 16.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 122,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,659,000 after acquiring an additional 17,716 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Otter Tail by 4.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 17,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Otter Tail by 3.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 400,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,021,000 after acquiring an additional 14,462 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Otter Tail by 24.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Otter Tail by 5.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

About Otter Tail

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Otter Tail Corp. is a holding company engaged in the energy, infrastructure, and production businesses. It operates through the following segments: Electric, Manufacturing, and Plastics. The Electric segment is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy in western Minnesota, eastern North Dakota, and northeastern South Dakota.