Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,675 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.21% of Unitil worth $11,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,398,000 after acquiring an additional 49,130 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $20,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 186,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,084,000 after acquiring an additional 19,631 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 117,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,355,000 after acquiring an additional 6,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 3.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UTL traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $51.56. The stock had a trading volume of 41,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 68,682. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.81 and a 1 year high of $63.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.83. The company has a market capitalization of $838.28 million, a PE ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 0.63.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.03 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.