Unitil Corporation $UTL Shares Purchased by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Unitil Corporation by 43.4% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.16% of the company, valued at about $1.5 million.
• Unitil announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a dividend yield of 3.9%.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.29, exceeding expectations of $0.28, with a revenue of $101 million.

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,914 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Unitil worth $1,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UTL. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth about $7,457,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 6.4% during the 1st 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 position in shares of Unitil by 7,273.3% during the 1st 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 609,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,143,000 after acquiring an additional 48,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 1,011.0% during the 4th 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. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:UTL opened at $45.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.81. The stock has a market cap of $807.55 million, a P/E ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.68. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $61.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $101.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.00 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 9.54%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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