State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Buys 4,695 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR - Free Report) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.06% of Otter Tail worth $1,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Otter Tail by 132.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OTTR. 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 upgraded Otter Tail from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OTTR opened at $81.56 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $71.66 and a twelve month high of $100.84. The company's 50 day moving average is $77.03 and its 200 day moving average is $79.27. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.57.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $303.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $314.75 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.67%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. This is an increase from Otter Tail's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Otter Tail's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.29%.

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.

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