KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $385,000 in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UTL. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Unitil by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,835,000 after purchasing an additional 41,511 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Unitil by 3.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 381,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,126,000 after acquiring an additional 11,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Unitil by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 203,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,130 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,827,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 87,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unitil Stock Performance

UTL traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $55.71. The company had a trading volume of 72,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,302. The stock has a market cap of $905.05 million, a P/E ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. Unitil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.40 and a fifty-two week high of $63.52. The company's fifty day moving average is $56.07 and its 200 day moving average is $56.62.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. 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.