DC Investments Management LLC Invests $247,000 in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

DC Investments Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Unitil by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Unitil by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Unitil by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,802,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 798.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Unitil in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Stock Down 1.4 %

UTL stock traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.67. The company had a trading volume of 129,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,126. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Unitil Co. has a 1 year low of $48.94 and a 1 year high of $63.52. The company has a market capitalization of $920.66 million, a P/E ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.67.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.03 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

About Unitil

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.