Trexquant Investment LP Makes New Investment in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Unitil Corporation valued at approximately $1,020,000, holding about 0.11% of the company by the end of the last quarter.
• Unitil recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing a yield of 3.9% based on an annualized dividend of $1.80.
• For the last quarter, Unitil reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.01, with revenue matching forecasts at $101 million.

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 17,682 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,020,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.11% of Unitil at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UTL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Unitil by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,884 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 19,631 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Unitil by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 3,504 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Unitil by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 77,382 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,193,000 after acquiring an additional 6,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Unitil by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 30,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE UTL traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.22. The stock had a trading volume of 115,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,992. The business's 50 day moving average is $49.18 and its 200-day moving average is $53.27. Unitil Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $63.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $817.58 million, a P/E ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 0.68.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Unitil had a net margin of 9.54% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $101.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is 61.86%.

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.