Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,343 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of OTTR. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 14.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Otter Tail by 3,339.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,974,000 after buying an additional 74,212 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Otter Tail by 132.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc. grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 8,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 39.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on OTTR shares. Siebert Williams Shank raised Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of OTTR opened at $79.73 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a one year low of $71.66 and a one year high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $314.75 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. On average, analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.29%.

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.