BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,893,170 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $152,441,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 15.86% of Unitil as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Unitil during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Unitil during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Unitil by 196.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Unitil in the third quarter worth $32,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
UTL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Unitil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Unitil from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on UTL
Unitil Stock Performance
UTL stock opened at $53.30 on Friday. Unitil Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $57.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $972.19 million, a P/E ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.56.
Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $113.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.19 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 9.49%. Research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Unitil Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 59.94%.
Unitil Company Profile
(
Free Report)
Unitil Corporation NYSE: UTL is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil's operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.
Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.
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