Boston Trust Walden Corp Buys 39,511 Shares of Unitil Corporation $UTL

Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 413,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,511 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 2.34% of Unitil worth $19,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UTL. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Unitil by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 195.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 43,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after buying an additional 28,973 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 36.5% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 43,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 11,534 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Unitil by 1.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 43,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Unitil in the second quarter worth about $103,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Performance

UTL stock opened at $48.99 on Tuesday. Unitil Corporation has a one year low of $44.61 and a one year high of $59.99. The firm has a market cap of $877.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.05.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.40 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 9.04%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on UTL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Unitil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation (NYSE: UTL) is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil’s operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.