Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of Unitil worth $5,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UTL. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth about $166,000. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth about $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Price Performance

UTL opened at $51.15 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.91. Unitil Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.88 and a 12-month high of $63.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $831.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 0.63.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its earnings results 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 expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Unitil’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

About Unitil

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.