LSV Asset Management Buys 367,869 Shares of Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR

LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 217.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 536,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 367,869 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $43,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of OTTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 77.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 605,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,633,000 after acquiring an additional 264,009 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 17.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,464,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $120,054,000 after acquiring an additional 221,039 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 465.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 137,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,281,000 after acquiring an additional 113,276 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 31.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 409,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,542,000 after acquiring an additional 98,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 158.5% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 152,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,506,000 after acquiring an additional 93,549 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Otter Tail stock opened at $87.35 on Monday. Otter Tail Corporation has a 12 month low of $74.15 and a 12 month 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.91. The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on OTTR shares. Weiss Ratings raised Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Otter Tail from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

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.