Paloma Partners Management Co Acquires New Position in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR)

Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 8,231.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 187,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,971,000 after acquiring an additional 185,702 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Otter Tail in the 1st quarter valued at $2,276,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Otter Tail in the 1st quarter valued at $590,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Otter Tail during the 4th quarter worth $1,634,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 113.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 41,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,560,000 after buying an additional 21,908 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.32% of the company’s stock.

Otter Tail Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of OTTR stock traded down $3.78 on Monday, reaching $96.69. 173,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 227,514. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.80. Otter Tail Co. has a 1-year low of $68.96 and a 1-year high of $100.84.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 22.55%. The business had revenue of $347.07 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Otter Tail Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.468 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Otter Tail’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paul L. Knutson sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.