Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $23.14 Million Holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 426,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,041 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.64% of Unitil worth $23,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UTL. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 24,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Unitil by 798.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil in the fourth quarter worth about $2,082,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Price Performance

NYSE UTL traded down $1.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $55.45. 6,455 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,916. The company has a market cap of $901.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. Unitil Co. has a 1-year low of $48.94 and a 1-year high of $63.52. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $57.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.48.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 9.52%. The firm had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.03 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.