Ellsworth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired 19,477 Unitil shares worth approximately $989,000, while institutional investors collectively own 76.76% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on Unitil, with an average price target of $58.67; Huntington issued an “Outperform” rating with a $63 target.
• Unitil recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.475, equivalent to an annualized $1.90 and a 3.6% yield.

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $989,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC owned 0.11% of Unitil as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UTL. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Unitil during the second quarter worth $2,250,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,012,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Unitil in the second quarter valued at about $2,057,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,285,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Unitil in the second quarter worth $2,285,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UTL shares. Weiss Ratings lowered 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 report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.67.

Unitil Price Performance

UTL opened at $53.36 on Friday. Unitil Corporation has a one year low of $46.91 and a one year high of $57.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $52.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $973.07 million, a P/E ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.26.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Unitil had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $117.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.4750 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.94%.

Unitil Profile

Unitil Corporation is a regulated public utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas distribution services in New England. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while maintaining the local infrastructure required to support safe and reliable service.

Unitil's electric operations serve communities in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Its natural gas businesses provide distribution service primarily in New Hampshire and the greater Fitchburg area of Massachusetts.

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