Midwest Trust Co Invests $333,000 in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Midwest Trust Co bought a new position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Unitil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $687,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 3.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Unitil by 3.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in Unitil by 23.7% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 115,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,685,000 after purchasing an additional 22,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Unitil during the first quarter valued at $306,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of UTL opened at $48.25 on Thursday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $47.49 and a 200 day moving average of $50.55. The company has a market cap of $864.31 million, a PE ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 0.62. Unitil Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.61 and a 52-week high of $61.42.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.40 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.54% and a return on equity of 9.46%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unitil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Unitil 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.