Unitil Corporation $UTL Position Lowered by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of Unitil worth $1,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 798.2% during the fourth 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. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Unitil by 27.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unitil in the fourth quarter worth about $166,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Unitil in the first quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Unitil in the first quarter worth about $220,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL opened at $47.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $50.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.29. Unitil Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.65 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $846.28 million, a P/E ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.66.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Unitil had a net margin of 9.54% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $101.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.