Start here if you're new
what it is
Otter Tail sells electricity, makes PVC pipe, and runs manufacturing businesses that throw off very different levels of profit.
how it gets paid
Last year Otter Tail made $1.3B in revenue. Plastics was the main engine at $0.42B, or 32% of sales.
growth snapshot
Revenue was roughly flat last year at $1.3B. The number that mattered was the 15% drop in Plastics segment profit.
what just happened
Latest quarterly EPS came in at $1.23, just above the $1.22 estimate, which is technically a beat and emotionally a shrug.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
70/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
13.0x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 61/100 — average
What they do
Otter Tail sells electricity, makes PVC pipe, and runs manufacturing businesses that throw off very different levels of profit.
The moat is not glamour. It is captivity. Otter Tail serves 134,000 electric customers across Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, where keeping the lights on beats shopping around. Then Plastics turns 32.4% of revenue into 61.0% of net income, so your boring utility gets carried by pipe profits.
How they make money
$1.3B
annual revenue · their business grew +0.0% last year
Minnesota electric
$0.27B
0.0%
North Dakota electric
$0.24B
0.0%
South Dakota electric
$0.06B
0.0%
Plastics
$0.42B
15.0%
Manufacturing
$0.31B
0.0%
The products that matter
regulated power delivery
Electric Utility
134,000 customers · 48% mn / 42% nd / 10% sd
this is the stable base: 134,000 electric customers across three states, with minnesota contributing 48% of 2025 retail electric revenue, north dakota 42%, and south dakota 10%.
ballast
pvc pipe production
Plastics Manufacturing
$231.1M earnings · down 15%
this segment still earned $231.1M in 2025, but profits fell 15% compared to last year as pvc pipe pricing kept sliding from pandemic-era highs. that's a big swing for a company this size.
swing factor
Key numbers
13.0x
trailing p/e
P/E → what you pay for each $1 of profit → so what: you are not paying a growth-stock price for a business with projected earnings growth of -1.0%.
26.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit left after running the business → so what: Otter Tail keeps about $0.27 from each revenue dollar before interest and taxes.
8.0%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on money invested in the business → so what: this is decent, not magical, and far below the earnings growth of the last cycle.
2.6%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to you each year relative to the stock price → so what: you get paid to wait, but not enough to ignore falling earnings estimates.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 75 / 100
- long-term debt $964M (21% of capital)
- return on equity 10% — $0.10 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in OTTR 3 years ago → it's now worth $12,980.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Latest quarterly EPS came in at $1.23, just above the $1.22 estimate, which is technically a beat and emotionally a shrug.
2025 was weak, and management already walked you into that. PVC pipe pricing kept falling from pandemic-era peaks, which cut Plastics segment profit 15% vs. prior year to $231.1 million.
$325M
revenue
$1.23
eps
26.5%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was the 15% drop in Plastics segment profit, because that segment drives 61.0% of total net income.
-
otter tail corp. generated weak results in 2025.
-
this was to be expected, though.
-
the pricing for pvc pipes has been on a steady decline from pandemicera peaks, which is directly impacting profitability for plastics.
-
in fact, that segment’s bottom line finished 15% lower, vs. prior year, at $231.1 million.
-
even still, it accounted for the lion’s share of 2025 earnings.admittedly, the weak results undermined a solid performance in the electric business, which was driven by favorable weather and higher demand.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is pvc pipe price weakness inside the plastics segment.
med
pvc pipe price weakness
the plastics segment is already feeling it. pricing has been falling from pandemic-era peaks, and this company does not control that cycle.
impact: plastics earnings fell 15% to $231.1M in 2025. another leg down would keep hitting the part of the business that drives the narrative.
med
state utility rate decisions
the moat is regulation, and regulation cuts both ways. allowed returns, customer rates, and recovery of investment all depend on state approval.
impact: the utility serves 134,000 customers across three states, but regulators set the ceiling on how profitable that customer base can be.
med
weather and demand normalization
2025 electric results benefited from favorable weather and higher demand. if those tailwinds fade, the steady side of the business gets less helpful right when plastics is weak.
impact: when your defensive segment is merely normal instead of strong, earnings quality looks thinner even if total revenue stays stable.
The simple version: the utility gives you ballast, but the earnings swing still comes from plastics, and that segment already took a 15% hit in 2025.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
trend
plastics earnings direction
$231.1M is still meaningful. what matters next is whether that 15% decline starts to flatten or keeps getting worse.
risk
pvc pipe pricing
this is the external variable you do not control. if pricing keeps slipping, the market will keep treating OTTR like a utility with an earnings problem.
cal
rate-case and regulatory calendar
watch for filings and decisions in minnesota, north dakota, and south dakota. the monopoly is real, but so is the approval process.
metric
return on capital
7.5% return on capital is fine, not special. if new utility investment cannot lift that number, the stock stays a value case instead of a re-rating case.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak, analysts see a stock acting mostly like the market, not breaking away from it.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 means middle-of-the-pack risk. You are not buying a bunker stock, but this is also not a biotech coin flip.
chart momentum
top 5%
technical score 1 is the highest rating. The chart looks stronger than the underlying story, which is why you should treat momentum and fundamentals as two separate conversations.
earnings predictability
70 / 100
better than a pure materials stock, worse than a pure regulated utility. the plastics segment is why the score does not feel cleaner.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 2 consecutive quarters — 118 buyers vs. 105 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 28.1M shares. net buying for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$59
$100
$85
current price
$80
target midpoint · 6% from current · 3-5yr high: $135 (+60% · 14% ann'l return)
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