Unitil Corporation $UTL Shares Sold by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG lessened its holdings in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,648 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.36% of Unitil worth $3,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 100.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 7.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of UTL stock opened at $51.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.25 and a 200 day moving average of $50.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $932.01 million, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.33. Unitil Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.61 and a twelve month high of $55.12.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.13 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UTL shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Unitil in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Freedom Capital cut Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Unitil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Unitil 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.