Vestcor Inc Acquires Shares of 4,189 Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 4,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Otter Tail by 27.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Price Performance

OTTR stock opened at $83.35 on Tuesday. Otter Tail Co. has a 52 week low of $71.66 and a 52 week high of $100.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly 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. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.75 million. Analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.29%.

Otter Tail Company 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.