Northern Trust Corp Has $10.08 Million Stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 19,631 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.15% of Unitil worth $10,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 139.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,989,000 after buying an additional 19,134 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 183.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 7,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,082,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unitil Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:UTL traded up $0.66 on Friday, reaching $53.90. 60,665 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 62,729. The firm has a market capitalization of $875.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $56.82 and its 200-day moving average is $56.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Unitil Co. has a 1-year low of $48.94 and a 1-year high of $63.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.03 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 9.36%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

About Unitil

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.