Foundry Partners LLC Has $6.69 Million Stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)

Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 23.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,220 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC owned about 0.71% of Unitil worth $6,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Unitil by 7,273.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 51,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 50,477 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,398,000 after purchasing an additional 49,130 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 1,011.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 52,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 47,921 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth $2,082,000. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Unitil by 119.2% during the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,111 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,718,000 after acquiring an additional 25,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Price Performance

NYSE UTL traded up $0.31 on Friday, reaching $51.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 100,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 63,366. The firm has a market cap of $835.28 million, a PE ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.87. Unitil Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.81 and a 52 week high of $63.52. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 9.74%. The company had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.03 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Unitil's payout ratio is 61.43%.

Unitil Profile

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.