Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 9,088 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,088 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $16,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning grew its position in Otter Tail by 14.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Otter Tail by 3,339.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,974,000 after purchasing an additional 74,212 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 6.1% in the third quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 8,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Otter Tail by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Otter Tail stock opened at $81.45 on Wednesday. Otter Tail Co. has a 1 year low of $71.66 and a 1 year high of $100.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.03 and a 200 day moving average of $79.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

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

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is presently 29.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OTTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th.

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.