Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Shares Sold by Phocas Financial Corp.

Phocas Financial Corp. trimmed its position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,256 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned 0.24% of Otter Tail worth $7,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 29,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 320.5% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,879 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 12,865 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 113.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 41,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,560,000 after acquiring an additional 21,908 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,583,000 after acquiring an additional 23,514 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 1st quarter valued at $271,000. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OTTR has been the topic of several research reports. Siebert Williams Shank raised Otter Tail from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Otter Tail from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

OTTR stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.41. 58,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 233,527. Otter Tail Co. has a 1 year low of $73.43 and a 1 year high of $100.84. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $78.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.40. 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 (NASDAQ:OTTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $362.20 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.468 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Otter Tail's payout ratio is 25.83%.

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.