Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $609,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.06% of Unitil at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the second quarter worth $12,242,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the second quarter worth $25,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the second quarter worth $250,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Unitil during the second quarter valued at $267,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have commented on UTL. Freedom Capital cut shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Unitil from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.50.
Unitil Price Performance
UTL stock opened at $53.45 on Friday. Unitil Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $57.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $974.77 million, a P/E ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.
Unitil (NYSE:UTL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $113.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 9.53%. Analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Unitil Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Unitil’s payout ratio is presently 59.94%.
About Unitil
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.
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