Paloma Partners Management Co Purchases Shares of 6,471 Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Financial Perspectives Inc bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth about $88,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Otter Tail by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at about $130,000. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Trading Down 3.8 %

Otter Tail stock traded down $3.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $96.69. 173,046 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.92. Otter Tail Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.96 and a fifty-two week high of $100.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.22 and its 200-day moving average is $87.80.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $347.07 million for the quarter. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.55% and a return on equity of 21.58%. On average, analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $0.468 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is 25.69%.

Insider Activity at Otter Tail

In other Otter Tail news, VP Paul L. Knutson sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.66, for a total transaction of $362,640.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,845,746.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Otter Tail Profile

Otter Tail Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in electric utility, manufacturing, and plastic pipe businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric, Manufacturing, and Plastics. The Electric segment produces, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; and operates as a participant in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator markets.