Short Interest in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Grows By 17.1%

Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,970,000 shares, an increase of 17.1% from the August 31st total of 3,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 236,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.8 days. Approximately 10.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jennifer O. Smestad sold 4,000 shares of Otter Tail stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.74, for a total value of $354,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,502. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Otter Tail

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OTTR. Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Otter Tail during the second quarter worth about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Otter Tail by 1,811.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the 2nd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in Otter Tail by 28,725.0% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otter Tail Price Performance

Shares of Otter Tail stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $77.90. The company had a trading volume of 41,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,548. Otter Tail has a 1-year low of $68.96 and a 1-year high of $100.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.72.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.38. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm had revenue of $342.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $367.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Otter Tail will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.468 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is presently 25.69%.

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.