Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 10,330 Shares of Otter Tail Corporation $OTTR

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,330 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $13,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Otter Tail by 31.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 409,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,542,000 after acquiring an additional 98,243 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the second quarter valued at about $4,602,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Otter Tail by 309.5% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 77,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,968,000 after purchasing an additional 58,511 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 341,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,326,000 after buying an additional 57,751 shares during the period. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in Otter Tail in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,897,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Stock Up 1.1%

OTTR stock opened at $89.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Otter Tail Corporation has a twelve month low of $71.79 and a twelve month high of $90.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $84.05 and its 200-day moving average is $81.97.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $325.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $337.40 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.96% and a net margin of 21.48%.Otter Tail’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Otter Tail Corporation 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 Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.5775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 31.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on OTTR. Zacks Research upgraded Otter Tail to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Otter Tail Profile

Otter Tail Corporation, through its primary subsidiary Otter Tail Power Company, is a regulated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The company operates a diversified portfolio of owned and contracted power generation facilities, including coal, natural gas, wind and hydroelectric units, supplemented by long-term power purchase agreements. In addition to utility operations, Otter Tail provides related engineering, construction and maintenance services to support grid reliability and efficiency.

The company’s service territory covers a predominantly rural footprint in the Upper Midwest, including communities in west-central Minnesota, eastern North Dakota, northwest Wisconsin and small portions of South Dakota.