Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $90.46 and last traded at $90.1450, with a volume of 38553 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $88.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut Otter Tail from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Otter Tail Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.83.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $308.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $311.15 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otter Tail

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 129.3% during the 4th 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Otter Tail in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Otter Tail by 44.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Otter Tail during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Otter Tail

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.