Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 186,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,631 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.15% of Unitil worth $10,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wernau Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Unitil during the fourth quarter valued at 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 worth $30,398,000 after purchasing an additional 49,130 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,082,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Unitil in the 4th quarter valued at $1,326,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Unitil by 139.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,989,000 after buying an additional 19,134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Price Performance

NYSE:UTL traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.98. 4,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 62,728. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $56.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.28. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $48.94 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The company has a market cap of $860.90 million, a P/E ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (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 9.36% and a net margin of 9.52%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 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.