Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Invests $1.33 Million in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 24,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,326,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned approximately 0.15% of Unitil as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth about $2,673,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,082,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Unitil by 139.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 19,134 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at about $451,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at about $441,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Unitil Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:UTL traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.67. The stock had a trading volume of 129,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,126. The firm has a market cap of $920.94 million, a PE ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.48. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $48.94 and a twelve month high of $63.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.03 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 9.36%. On average, research analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.