Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $81.43 and traded as high as $88.29. Otter Tail shares last traded at $87.85, with a volume of 150,132 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OTTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Otter Tail to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Otter Tail from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Otter Tail Stock Down 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.96% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm had revenue of $325.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $337.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Otter Tail’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.5775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otter Tail

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at $194,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in Otter Tail in the 4th quarter worth about $328,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Otter Tail by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas raised its position in Otter Tail by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Otter Tail

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.