Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Raises Dividend to $0.53 Per Share

Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of 0.525 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47.

Otter Tail has increased its dividend by an average of 6.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Otter Tail has a dividend payout ratio of 41.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Otter Tail to earn $4.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.7%.

Otter Tail Trading Down 1.7 %

Otter Tail stock traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 254,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,667. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Otter Tail has a 12 month low of $71.66 and a 12 month high of $100.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on OTTR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Otter Tail from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Siebert Williams Shank raised Otter Tail from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Otter Tail Company 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.