Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $83.62 and traded as high as $86.92. Otter Tail shares last traded at $85.73, with a volume of 233,856 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered Otter Tail from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.00.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.62.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $308.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.15 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.5775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Otter Tail

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Otter Tail by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 44.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Company Profile

Otter Tail Corporation, through its primary subsidiary Otter Tail Power Company, is a regulated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The company operates a diversified portfolio of owned and contracted power generation facilities, including coal, natural gas, wind and hydroelectric units, supplemented by long-term power purchase agreements. In addition to utility operations, Otter Tail provides related engineering, construction and maintenance services to support grid reliability and efficiency.

The company’s service territory covers a predominantly rural footprint in the Upper Midwest, including communities in west-central Minnesota, eastern North Dakota, northwest Wisconsin and small portions of South Dakota.