GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 7,273.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 50,477 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Unitil worth $2,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Unitil by 139.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,989,000 after buying an additional 19,134 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 52,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,856,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 84,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 203,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE UTL traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.21. 105,441 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,878. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $48.94 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.71. The firm has a market cap of $848.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The company had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.03 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Unitil Company 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.