Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Cut to Hold at Siebert Williams Shank

Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $86.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Otter Tail from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Otter Tail currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Otter Tail Price Performance

OTTR stock opened at $88.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Otter Tail has a 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $92.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.12.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.31. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 21.34%.The firm had revenue of $347.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.10 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Otter Tail has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.220-5.620 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Otter Tail will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.5775 dividend. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otter Tail

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OTTR. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 248.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Otter Tail by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

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.