Jane Street Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 36.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,728 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned about 0.13% of Unitil worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Unitil by 798.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Unitil by 8,333.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,000. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,711. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Unitil Co. has a 12-month low of $48.94 and a 12-month high of $63.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $882.97 million, a P/E ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.67.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $193.03 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 9.36%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Unitil Company 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.