Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. Buys Shares of 4,568 Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000. Otter Tail accounts for 0.2% of Alternative Investment Advisors LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Forward LLC acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $360,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the first quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Otter Tail by 76.5% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 36,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 15,892 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 1.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 235,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,358 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Otter Tail by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 16,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Price Performance

OTTR stock opened at $77.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.62. Otter Tail Co. has a 1 year low of $68.96 and a 1 year high of $100.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.38. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 22.84%. The business had revenue of $342.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.71 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Otter Tail’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.468 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.69%.

Insider Activity at Otter Tail

In other Otter Tail news, VP Jennifer O. Smestad sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.74, for a total transaction of $354,960.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,091,502. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.