John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Buys 12,850 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 401.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,850 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 132.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Otter Tail by 27.9% during the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

Shares of OTTR stock opened at $79.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.45 and its 200 day moving average is $79.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Co. has a 52-week low of $71.66 and a 52-week high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) 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. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The company had revenue of $303.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.75 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is currently 29.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on OTTR shares. 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 raised shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

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.