Cynosure Group LLC Sells 5,411 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Cynosure Group LLC lowered its position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 59.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,411 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC's holdings in Otter Tail were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Otter Tail by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 47,668 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Otter Tail by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,211 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 189,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,981,000 after acquiring an additional 91,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

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Otter Tail Stock Performance

OTTR traded up $3.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $77.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 639,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,323. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $79.96 and its 200-day moving average is $78.58. Otter Tail Co. has a 52 week low of $71.66 and a 52 week high of $100.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.49.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $303.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.75 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.29%.

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.