The Filing Desk

Otter Tail

OTTR · Nasdaq · Utilities · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

OTTR · Last close · October 26, 2026
$90.07
Value Otter Tail yourself

Otter Tail's revenue fell 2.3% to $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 26.6%, down from 28.6% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $98 million, up 4.1%. It paid out $88 million in dividends and buybacks, 90% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.1%.

OTTER TAIL CORPORATION Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 18, 2026 · 0001466593-26-000008 Updated
Revenue
$1.3B
2.3%
Operating margin
26.6%
2.0 pts
Net income
$276M
8.5%
Free cash flow
$98M
4.1%
Return on capital
12.2%
1.6 pts
Market cap
$3.8B
Oct 26 close
P/E
19.4x
On $4.64 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Margins
Percent of revenue
GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 16.9% a year and net income 18.0% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 9% and diluted each share's earnings.

Net income
US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.
Diluted earnings per share
US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity
Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.
Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks
US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year
DividendsShare buybacks
Diluted share count
Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value Otter Tail yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Otter Tail's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Otter Tail's cash from operations minus depreciation in fiscal 2025 (free cash flow before spending to grow: capital spending was 2.4 times depreciation, which holds its free cash flow down) of $268M, net cash of −$583M at December 31, 2025 and 42 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Otter Tail: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, -4.0% a year, kept between 0% and 20%; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 9%: 7% for a stable business (Electric Utilities), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $3.8B, plus 1 point for unsteady results (revenue fell in two of the last five years); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

From the filings
Cash from operations minus depreciation in fiscal 2025: a rough guide to cash flow before spending to grow, for a company building heavily.
Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at December 31, 2025. Negative means net debt.
Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2025.
Your assumptions
Start from
Fitted to Otter Tail's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of -2% then 0% a year, 2% after year 10, a 10% discount rate. Base: growth of 0% then 1% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 9% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 2% then 2.5% a year, 3% after year 10, a 8% discount rate.
Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.
The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.
Value per share on these assumptions
—
—
Last close, October 26, 2026
$90.07
Value on these assumptions, against the last close
—

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
—
Everything after year 10, valued today
—
Plus net cash
—
Share of value from after year 10
—
Projected free cash flow
US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.
Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.
How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Otter Tail's earnings per share of $4.64 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 20.9×, the middle of Otter Tail's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Utilities median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 10%, 9% and 8%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to June 30, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.
P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: Idacorp, TXNM Energy, MGE Energy, Hawaiian Electric Industries.
Starts at Otter Tail's revenue growth over the last 3 years, -4.0% a year, kept between 0% and 20%, as the base scenario does.
Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$
Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.
Apply the multiple to earnings
A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.
The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.
Value per share today at this multiple
—
—
Last close, October 26, 2026
$90.07
Value at this multiple, against the last close
—
Otter Tail's P/E at the last close
19.4×
CompanyLast closeEarnings per shareP/E today
TXNM EnergyTXNM$58.40$1.3244.2×
IdacorpIDA$140.21$5.9023.8×
Otter TailOTTR$90.07$4.6419.4×
MGE EnergyMGEE$73.54$3.9018.9×
Hawaiian Electric IndustriesHE$8.21$1.306.3×
How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year endFY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Cash and short-term investments2119230295440
Debt incl. finance leases8588359061,0131,024
Net debt (negative means net cash)857716675718583
Net debt to EBITDA2.5x1.5x1.4x1.5x1.3x
Debt to equity0.9x0.7x0.6x0.6x0.6x
Interest coverage6.6x10.8x10.0x9.1x7.3x
Current ratio0.9x1.9x1.8x2.0x2.3x
Quick ratio0.6x1.3x1.4x1.6x1.8x
US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought Otter Tail shares on the open market, and 1 insider sold $394,044.

DateInsiderTradeSharesPriceValueFiling
Aug 11, 2026Paul L KnutsonVP, Human ResourcesSold475$94.63$44,949Form 4
Aug 10, 2026Paul L KnutsonVP, Human ResourcesSold250$92.84$23,210Form 4
Aug 7, 2026Paul L KnutsonVP, Human ResourcesSold3,500$93.11$325,885Form 4
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

TestFY23FY24FY25
Net income is positivePassPassPass
Cash from operations is positivePassPassPass
Return on assets roseFailFailFail
Cash from operations exceeds net incomePassPassPass
Debt fell relative to assetsPassPassPass
Current ratio roseFailPassPass
Share count didn't riseFailFailFail
Gross margin rose———
Revenue rose relative to assetsFailFailFail
F-score4 of 85 of 85 of 8
Accruals ratio−3.6%−4.4%−2.9%
The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put Otter Tail side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

CompanyYearRevenue growthOperating marginFree cash flow marginReturn on capitalNet debt to EBITDAF-scoreCompare
Otter TailFY25−2.3%26.6%7.5%12.2%1.3x5
IdacorpFY25−1.2%20.3%−33.1%5.5%5.5x5Compare
TXNM EnergyFY259.9%20.4%−28.2%4.8%6.1x6Compare
MGE EnergyFY259.8%22.9%−10.8%7.0%—5Compare
Hawaiian Electric IndustriesFY25−4.1%7.6%1.6%5.2%3.3x5Compare
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal yearFY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Income statement
Revenue8048499169208831,1981,4701,3541,3301,300
Revenue growth3.0%5.7%7.9%0.3%−4.0%35.6%22.7%−7.9%−1.7%−2.3%
Gross profit——————————
Research and development——————————
Operating income117132129135148250390378380346
Net income6272828796177284294302276
Diluted EPS (US$)1.611.822.062.172.344.236.787.007.176.55
Diluted shares (millions)39404040414242424242
Cash flow
Cash from operations163174143185212231389404453386
Capital expenditure161133105207372172171287359288
Free cash flow24138−22−160592181179498
Dividends paid0515356606569737888
Share buybacks0233200000
Acquisitions2000000000
Stock-based compensation34466778109
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments01612112119230295440
Debt incl. finance leases5846056116988488588359061,0131,024
Total assets1,9122,0042,0522,2742,5782,7552,9023,2433,6523,964
Total liabilities1,2421,3071,3241,4921,7071,7641,6841,8001,9842,102
Shareholders' equity6706977297828719911,2171,4431,6681,862
Margins and ratios
Gross margin——————————
Operating margin14.5%15.6%14.1%14.7%16.7%20.9%26.6%27.9%28.6%26.6%
Net margin7.8%8.5%9.0%9.4%10.8%14.8%19.3%21.7%22.7%21.2%
Free cash flow margin0.3%4.8%4.2%−2.4%−18.1%5.0%14.8%8.7%7.1%7.5%
Return on capital—7.6%8.4%8.0%7.7%11.6%16.4%15.1%13.9%12.2%
Return on equity9.8%10.6%11.6%11.5%11.6%19.0%25.7%22.1%19.4%15.6%
Return on assets3.3%3.7%4.1%4.0%4.0%6.6%10.1%9.6%8.8%7.2%
Net debt to EBITDA3.1x2.9x3.0x3.2x3.7x2.5x1.5x1.4x1.5x1.3x
US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)
Source: Otter Tail's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Otter Tail.