Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 18,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,633,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

OTTR stock opened at $89.66 on Thursday. Otter Tail Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.15 and a 1-year high of $92.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $88.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.96.

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

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.5775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is currently 34.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OTTR shares. Weiss Ratings raised Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research lowered Otter Tail from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Otter Tail has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.