Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $814,000 Position in Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 28.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OTTR. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 1.2% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 12,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Otter Tail by 3.4% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Otter Tail by 1.1% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 22,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,839,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Otter Tail to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Otter Tail from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.00.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of OTTR opened at $82.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.56. Otter Tail Corporation has a 52 week low of $71.66 and a 52 week high of $86.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a current ratio of 3.31.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 21.82%.The company had revenue of $325.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $337.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.67%.

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.