Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 100,857 Shares of Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 100,857 Unitil shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $5.3 million and representing 0.55% of the utility company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 76.76% of Unitil.
• Unitil reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, exceeding analysts’ $0.26 estimate, on revenue of $113.19 million. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $3.31.
• Unitil pays a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, equivalent to a 3.8% annualized yield. Analyst sentiment remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $58.67 versus the reported share price of $50.31.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 100,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,314,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.55% of Unitil as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unitil in the second quarter worth $152,441,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Unitil during the second quarter worth about $26,864,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Unitil by 23.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 490,041 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,600,000 after buying an additional 93,101 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Unitil during the second quarter worth about $12,242,000. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Unitil by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 182,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,827,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of UTL opened at $50.31 on Tuesday. Unitil Corporation has a 12-month low of $46.40 and a 12-month high of $57.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $917.73 million, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.32.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $113.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 9.49%. Analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.4750 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Unitil from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Huntington began coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unitil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.67.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation NYSE: UTL is a regulated public utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas distribution services to customers in New England. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers and maintains the local utility infrastructure needed to support those services.

Unitil Energy Systems provides electric distribution service in southeastern New Hampshire. Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company serves customers in north-central Massachusetts with electric and natural gas distribution, while Northern Utilities provides natural gas distribution in parts of New Hampshire and southern Maine.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil traces its history to the consolidation of smaller New England utilities and has operated as a publicly traded utility company since 1984.

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