Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.47

Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 5th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.468 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th.

Otter Tail has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Otter Tail has a dividend payout ratio of 40.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Otter Tail to earn $4.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.87 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.7%.

Otter Tail Stock Up 1.6 %

OTTR traded up $1.42 on Wednesday, hitting $91.65. 12,387 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 225,872. Otter Tail has a 12 month low of $68.96 and a 12 month high of $100.84. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.73 and its 200-day moving average is $88.34.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $342.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.71 million. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 22.55%. Otter Tail’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Otter Tail will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Otter Tail

In related news, VP Paul L. Knutson sold 4,000 shares of Otter Tail stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.66, for a total transaction of $362,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,845,746.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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.