Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,088 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.54% of Otter Tail worth $16,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Otter Tail in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Otter Tail by 132.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on OTTR. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Otter Tail from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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.

Remove Ads

Otter Tail Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ OTTR traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $79.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 216,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,598. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a 1-year low of $71.66 and a 1-year high of $100.84. The company's 50-day moving average is $77.45 and its 200 day moving average is $79.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.