Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New $687,000 Investment in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $687,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of Unitil as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Unitil by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 798.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of UTL traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.37. 100,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,282. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $52.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.87. Unitil Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.79 and a 12-month high of $63.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $835.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.63.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.03 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 9.74%. Research analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid 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 3.50%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.