Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 34.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,750 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. owned 0.07% of Unitil worth $632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 27.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Unitil by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of UTL stock traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.19. The stock had a trading volume of 47,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 63,124. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $53.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.97. Unitil Corporation has a 52-week low of $51.10 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $832.35 million, a PE ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.63. 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 (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.03 million. Equities analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.