Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Stock Position Lifted by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 1,011.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 52,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 47,921 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.33% of Unitil worth $2,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UTL. Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,673,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,398,000 after buying an additional 49,130 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter worth $2,082,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the 4th quarter worth $1,326,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Unitil by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 186,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,084,000 after buying an additional 19,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Unitil stock traded down $1.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $52.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 76,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 63,258. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.50 and a 200 day moving average of $55.98. Unitil Co. has a 1-year low of $48.94 and a 1-year high of $63.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $860.82 million, a PE ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 0.67.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.03 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 9.52%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.