Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $3.84 Million Stock Position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 about 0.41% of Unitil worth $3,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Unitil by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 186,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,084,000 after buying an additional 19,631 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at about $485,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Unitil by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 1,011.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 52,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 47,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Trading Up 0.1%

UTL opened at $51.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $843.08 million, a P/E ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company's 50 day moving average is $55.61 and its 200-day moving average is $55.44. Unitil Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $63.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $193.03 million. Equities research analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. 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.

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