Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Stake Boosted by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,631 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.15% of Unitil worth $10,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UTL. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Unitil by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,398,000 after acquiring an additional 49,130 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Unitil by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 203,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,130 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 117,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,355,000 after buying an additional 6,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 84,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,567,000 after buying an additional 2,885 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of UTL opened at $54.44 on Friday. Unitil Co. has a 12 month low of $48.94 and a 12 month high of $63.52. The stock has a market cap of $884.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 9.52%. The company had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.03 million. Equities analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Unitil’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.