Raymond James & Associates Buys 2,025 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OTTR. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the first quarter valued at $45,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 70.6% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the third quarter valued at $58,000. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Stock Down 1.2 %

Otter Tail stock opened at $82.13 on Thursday. Otter Tail Co. has a 1-year low of $68.96 and a 1-year high of $99.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.03. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 21.64%. The firm had revenue of $314.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.468 per share. This is a positive change from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

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.