Yahoo Finance Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Ticks All The Boxes When It Comes To Earnings Growth
It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.
So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.
View our latest analysis for Otter Tail
Otter Tail's Earnings Per Share Are Growing
The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. So it makes sense that experienced investors pay close attention to company EPS when undertaking investment research. Otter Tail's shareholders have have plenty to be happy about as their annual EPS growth for the last 3 years was 43%. Growth that fast may well be fleeting, but it should be more than enough to pique the interest of the wary stock pickers.
It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. We note that while EBIT margins have improved from 26% to 30%, the company has actually reported a fall in revenue by 4.7%. That's not a good look.
The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.
Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Otter Tail.
Are Otter Tail Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that Otter Tail insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. With a whopping US$81m worth of shares as a group, insiders have plenty riding on the company's success. This would indicate that the goals of shareholders and management are one and the same.
It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but shareholders may be wondering if remuneration policies are in their best interest. Our quick analysis into CEO remuneration would seem to indicate they are. For companies with market capitalisations between US$2.0b and US$6.4b, like Otter Tail, the median CEO pay is around US$6.7m.
The Otter Tail CEO received US$5.8m in compensation for the year ending December 2023. That is actually below the median for CEO's of similarly sized companies. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when it's reasonable, that gives a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.
Is Otter Tail Worth Keeping An Eye On?
Otter Tail's earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. An added bonus for those interested is that management hold a heap of stock and the CEO pay is quite reasonable, illustrating good cash management. The strong EPS improvement suggests the businesses is humming along. Otter Tail is certainly doing some things right and is well worth investigating. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for Otter Tail (1 is potentially serious!) that you need to be mindful of.
Although Otter Tail certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with insider buying, then check out this handpicked selection of companies that not only boast of strong growth but have also seen recent insider buying..
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
