Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 10,955 Shares of Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Unitil Corporation by 15.9%, selling 10,955 shares and now holding approximately 58,159 shares worth $3,355,000.
• Unitil Corporation recently reported $0.29 earnings per share for the previous quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.28, with revenues meeting analyst expectations at $101.00 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, which reflects an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 61.86%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,955 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Unitil worth $3,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Unitil by 27.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Unitil by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP grew its position in Unitil by 7.2% in the first quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 17,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Performance

Unitil stock opened at $45.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $803.29 million, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.42. Unitil Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.61 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Unitil had a net margin of 9.54% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $101.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.00 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Unitil's payout ratio is presently 61.86%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UTL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.