Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $3.16 Million Stake in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 9.1%, holding 60,581 shares valued at approximately $3.16 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Unitil reported $0.29 earnings per share for the last quarter, slightly beating analysts' expectations, and has a consensus price target of $55.00 from Wall Street analysts.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, with an annual yield of 3.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 61.86%.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,059 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.37% of Unitil worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 27.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Unitil during the first quarter worth about $99,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil in the 1st quarter worth about $100,000. Teton Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Unitil in the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Unitil has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Unitil Price Performance

Unitil stock opened at $47.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.58. Unitil Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $61.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $846.82 million, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.19 and a 200-day moving average of $51.96.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $101.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.00 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 9.54%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.86%.

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.

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