Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Acquires 806 Shares of Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Otter Tail by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth approximately $455,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Otter Tail by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of OTTR opened at $77.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Otter Tail Co. has a 1 year low of $71.66 and a 1 year high of $100.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.56.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The business had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.468 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

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.