Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: What are your thoughts on Otter Tail and Veolia? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Otter Tail Corp., $21.62, symbol OTTR on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 35.8 million; Market cap: $784.6 million; www.ottertail.com), is the parent of Otter Tail Power Company, which supplies electricity to 129,000 customers. These customers are in a 50,000-square-mile area that covers parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Otter Tail gets 49% of its electrical revenue from Minnesota, followed by North Dakota (41%) and South Dakota (10%). Commercial and farm clients account for 36% of Otter Tail’s electrical revenue, followed by residential (31%), industrial (23%) and other (10%). The company also makes and transports wind-turbine towers, and has operations in the manufacturing, health services, food-ingredient processing, plastics and construction industries. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Otter Tail’s revenue rose 17.6%, to $286.7 million from $243.7 million. Electricity sales accounted for 32% of the company’s revenue in the latest quarter, followed by wind energy (21%), manufacturing (20%), construction (13%), plastics (6%), and health services (8%). Earnings per share…