Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 36.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,728 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned about 0.13% of Unitil worth $1,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 798.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter worth about $166,000. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unitil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL opened at $54.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.93 and its 200-day moving average is $56.31. Unitil Co. has a 12-month low of $48.94 and a 12-month high of $63.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $878.85 million, a P/E ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Unitil’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

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.