Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 216,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,784 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.52% of Otter Tail worth $16,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in OTTR. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Otter Tail during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 132.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Otter Tail by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 1,811.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ OTTR opened at $79.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.54. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.52. Otter Tail Co. has a 12 month low of $73.43 and a 12 month high of $100.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.20 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.01 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.468 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 25.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Otter Tail

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.