JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 10,677 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 9.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 97,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,677 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $7,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Otter Tail by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Otter Tail during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Otter Tail during the third quarter worth about $711,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Otter Tail by 359.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 55,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Otter Tail in the 3rd quarter valued at about $306,000. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Trading Up 2.0 %

OTTR opened at $77.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Otter Tail Co. has a twelve month low of $71.66 and a twelve month high of $100.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.83.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.20 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.19 EPS. Analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.468 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 25.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Otter Tail

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.