Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Has $4.30 Million Holdings in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• Tudor Investment Corp increased its stake in Unitil by 85.8% in Q3 to 89,862 shares valued at $4.30 million, and several other large investors (e.g., Wellington Management) also significantly added positions, leaving institutional ownership at about 76.76%.
• Unitil beat Q results (EPS $1.13 vs. $1.03 and revenue $161.5M vs. $144.45M) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.475 ($1.90 annual, ~3.5% yield).
• The stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with a $57 target amid mixed analyst actions (Scotiabank started coverage at sector perform while Wall Street Zen upgraded to buy); market cap is roughly $990M with a PE of 18.35.

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 85.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,862 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 41,490 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned 0.50% of Unitil worth $4,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 1,119.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 309,935 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,833,000 after buying an additional 284,522 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Unitil in the 3rd quarter valued at $13,162,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,338,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Unitil by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,414,000 after purchasing an additional 108,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Unitil by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 360,894 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,821,000 after acquiring an additional 101,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Unitil in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Unitil from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Unitil Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE UTL opened at $55.05 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $52.24 and its 200 day moving average is $49.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $990.06 million, a PE ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 0.45. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $59.99.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 9.37%.The business had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.45 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 12th. This is an increase from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.33%.

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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