The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Holdings in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Unitil Corporation by 8.6%, acquiring an additional 48,225 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 609,169 shares valued at $35.1 million.
• Unitil recently reported $0.29 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with total revenue of $101 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, which presents an annualized yield of 3.8%, with a payout ratio of 61.86%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 609,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 48,225 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 3.75% of Unitil worth $35,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil in the first quarter worth about $7,457,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Unitil by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,365,282 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $78,763,000 after acquiring an additional 82,137 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Unitil by 7,273.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 51,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 50,477 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Unitil by 1,011.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 52,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 47,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Unitil by 119.2% in the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,111 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,718,000 after acquiring an additional 25,623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE UTL traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $45.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 93,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,630. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $808.95 million, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $50.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.80. Unitil Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.11 and a fifty-two week high of $63.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 9.54%.The firm had revenue of $101.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.00 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

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.