Cerity Partners LLC Sells 727 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 727 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $2,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Otter Tail in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Otter Tail during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Otter Tail by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of OTTR opened at $82.29 on Friday. 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 11.76 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.71 and its 200-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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.03. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 21.64% and a net margin of 21.81%. The business had revenue of $314.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.468 dividend. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

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.