Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 24,131 Shares of Unitil Corporation $UTL

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 87.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,131 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $2,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Unitil in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 196.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Unitil in the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UTL. Freedom Capital cut Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Unitil in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unitil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Unitil Stock Performance

UTL opened at $54.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $993.82 million, a PE ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 0.31. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $57.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.32.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 9.49%.The business had revenue of $113.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 million. Research analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.94%.

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.