Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Takes Position in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Unitil in the 1st quarter valued at about $306,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Unitil by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Unitil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,457,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Unitil by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,006,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL opened at $49.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $875.55 million, a P/E ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 0.65. Unitil Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $61.51.

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

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

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.