John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Raises Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 401.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OTTR. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 14.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 132.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. grew its position in shares of Otter Tail by 6.1% during the third quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 8,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OTTR opened at $79.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a 12 month low of $71.66 and a 12 month high of $100.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.16. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.57.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.75 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on OTTR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

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.