Otter Tail (OTTR) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Otter Tail (OTTR) closed at $64.11 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.85% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.65%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.86%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.24%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the power company and manufacturer had lost 8.93% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Utilities sector's loss of 16.68% and the S&P 500's loss of 8.99% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Otter Tail as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.70, up 34.92% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $389.3 million, up 23.08% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.08 per share and revenue of $1.56 billion. These totals would mark changes of +67.38% and +30.01%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Otter Tail. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Otter Tail is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Otter Tail is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.98. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.82.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 67, putting it in the top 27% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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