Wells Fargo & Company MN Acquires 2,256 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.08% of Unitil worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in shares of Unitil by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $385,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Trading Up 0.5 %

UTL stock opened at $58.95 on Friday. Unitil Co. has a 52 week low of $48.94 and a 52 week high of $63.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.57. The company has a market capitalization of $957.73 million, a PE ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.58.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil 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.