D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Makes New $485,000 Investment in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $485,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Unitil at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 798.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Unitil by 8,333.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,000. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

NYSE UTL traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $54.58. 5,050 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 62,689. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.11. Unitil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $48.94 and a fifty-two week high of $63.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $886.98 million, a P/E ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.