Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 17.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.41% of Unitil worth $3,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,398,000 after purchasing an additional 49,130 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 186,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,084,000 after purchasing an additional 19,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Unitil by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 117,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,355,000 after acquiring an additional 6,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

UTL traded up $1.40 on Monday, reaching $53.24. The company had a trading volume of 59,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,150. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.62 and a 1 year high of $63.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $865.68 million, a PE ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.31.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.03 million. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. 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.