Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $83.43 and traded as high as $88.89. Otter Tail shares last traded at $87.12, with a volume of 286,167 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Otter Tail presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.00.

Otter Tail Trading Down 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $87.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.48.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 21.16%.The business had revenue of $308.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.5775 dividend. This is a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otter Tail

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayban bought a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth approximately $377,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by 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.