PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Unitil were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Unitil by 798.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Unitil by 27.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Unitil during the fourth quarter valued at $166,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Unitil during the first quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Unitil during the first quarter valued at $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:UTL opened at $49.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $798.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84 and a beta of 0.66. Unitil Corporation has a 12-month low of $48.72 and a 12-month high of $63.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 9.54%. The firm had revenue of $101.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.00 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

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.