2,493 Shares in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $131,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Unitil by 57.8% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Unitil by 75.9% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Unitil by 133.8% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unitil in the first quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Unitil in the first quarter worth about $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of Unitil stock opened at $48.55 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $784.49 million, a PE ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.58. Unitil Co. has a 52 week low of $41.43 and a 52 week high of $59.28.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $129.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.00 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.32% and a net margin of 8.11%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Unitil’s payout ratio is presently 60.28%.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.