Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.53 Per Share

Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.525 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Otter Tail’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47.

Otter Tail has increased its dividend by an average of 6.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Otter Tail has a dividend payout ratio of 37.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Otter Tail to earn $4.31 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 43.4%.

Otter Tail Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of OTTR stock traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.91. 114,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 222,276. Otter Tail has a 1 year low of $71.66 and a 1 year high of $100.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.73.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm had revenue of $338.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Otter Tail will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.