Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $79.85 and last traded at $79.65, with a volume of 156,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OTTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Otter Tail from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Otter Tail has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.00.

Otter Tail Stock Down 4.8%

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.10 and its 200-day moving average is $88.77.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $320.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.87 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 13.45%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.5775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $2.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.78%.

Institutional Trading of Otter Tail

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OTTR. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Otter Tail by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 21,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 23.9% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 154.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Company Profile

Otter Tail Corporation is a diversified company headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Through its electric utility subsidiary, Otter Tail Power Company, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.

Otter Tail Power Company serves customers across portions of western Minnesota, eastern North Dakota and northeastern South Dakota. Its generation portfolio includes coal, natural gas, wind and other energy resources, supporting the company’s role as a regional provider of electric power and related utility services.

Beyond its utility operations, Otter Tail Corporation owns manufacturing businesses that produce fabricated metal components, plastic products and other specialized goods.