HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Takes $8.34 Million Position in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC opened a new position in Unitil (NYSE:UTL) of 174,218 shares valued at approximately $8.34 million, representing about 0.97% of the company.
• Other institutions are adding to stakes—Reaves W H & Co. reported a new ~$13.16 million stake, Vanguard now owns 1,471,196 shares, and The Manufacturers Life increased to 717,423 shares—with institutional ownership around 76.8%.
• Operationally, Unitil beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.13 vs. $1.03 and revenue $161.5M vs. $144.45M), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.475 (annualized $1.90, yield 3.6%), and has a market cap of about $944M.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 174,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,338,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned 0.97% of Unitil at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Unitil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,162,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Unitil by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,414,000 after acquiring an additional 108,254 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 38.9% in the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 360,894 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,821,000 after purchasing an additional 101,114 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,471,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,411,000 after purchasing an additional 68,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 10.6% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 413,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,797,000 after purchasing an additional 39,511 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Unitil from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Unitil presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Unitil Trading Up 0.8%

Unitil stock opened at $52.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $944.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.48. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $59.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $51.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.45 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 9.37%. On average, research analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a positive change from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 12th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.33%.

Unitil Profile

Unitil Corporation NYSE: UTL is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil's operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.

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