Otter Tail saw an improvement in its IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating Thursday, from 94 to 96.

The new rating shows the stock is outpacing 96% of all stocks when it comes to the most important stock-picking criteria.

Otter Tail is currently about 5% above a 54.40 entry from a cup with handle. Understand that it is a thinly traded stock, with average daily dollar volume under $8 million. Less liquid stocks are more prone to volatile action since it takes fewer shares bought or sold to move the share price.

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The stock sports an 88 EPS Rating, meaning its recent quarterly and annual earnings growth is outpacing 88% of all stocks.

Its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A shows heavy buying by institutional investors over the last 13 weeks.

In Q2, the company reported 140% earnings growth. It has now posted accelerating EPS increases for two consecutive quarters. Revenue growth rose 48%, up from 11% in the prior report. The company has now posted rising growth in each of the last four reports.

Otter Tail holds the No. 1 rank among its peers in the Diversified Operations industry group. Roper Technologies and Crane are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.