Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New Investment in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $687,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.07% of Unitil as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 798.2% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,000. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unitil in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Unitil during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of UTL opened at $51.15 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $831.70 million, a P/E ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 0.63. Unitil Corporation has a one year low of $51.04 and a one year high of $63.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted 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 9.49% and a net margin of 9.74%. The firm had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.03 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. 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.