BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.05% of Otter Tail worth $1,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in OTTR. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 52,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth approximately $455,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 359.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,514,000 after acquiring an additional 55,210 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 536,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,618,000 after acquiring an additional 27,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 59,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Otter Tail stock opened at $79.90 on Monday. Otter Tail Co. has a 52-week low of $71.66 and a 52-week high of $100.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.27 and a 200 day moving average of $78.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.56.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.09. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The company had revenue of $337.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.