Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 43,359 Unitil shares worth approximately $2.3 million in the second quarter, representing about 0.24% of the company.
• Other major institutions, including BlackRock and Manufacturers Life Insurance, also established or increased positions; institutional investors now own 76.76% of Unitil’s stock.
• Unitil reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, exceeding the $0.26 consensus estimate, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, yielding about 3.5%. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with a $56.50 target price.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 43,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,285,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.24% of Unitil as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $152,441,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,864,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Unitil by 94.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 601,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,125,000 after acquiring an additional 291,325 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil during the second quarter worth $12,242,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Unitil in the second quarter worth $5,730,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Unitil from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Unitil Price Performance

Unitil stock opened at $53.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $979.69 million, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.32. Unitil Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $57.26. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $53.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Unitil had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $113.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.19 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 59.94%.

Unitil Company 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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