Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 3.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 451 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,276,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Otter Tail by 45.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 29,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Otter Tail during the first quarter valued at approximately $590,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,634,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 12,865 shares during the period. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jennifer O. Smestad sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.74, for a total transaction of $354,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,502. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

NASDAQ OTTR opened at $84.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.89. Otter Tail Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.96 and a fifty-two week high of $100.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.38. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $342.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $367.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.468 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.69%.

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.