Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $86.76 and traded as high as $90.18. Otter Tail shares last traded at $90.05, with a volume of 166,430 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on OTTR. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Otter Tail from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Otter Tail in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research lowered Otter Tail from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank cut shares of Otter Tail from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Otter Tail Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.76.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $347.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.10 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 21.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.5775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otter Tail

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Otter Tail by 248.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 129.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Otter Tail Company 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.