Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Shares Sold by Algert Global LLC

Algert Global LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 55.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,864 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,903 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in Unitil were worth $209,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unitil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,673,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Unitil by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,398,000 after purchasing an additional 49,130 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Unitil during the fourth quarter valued at $2,082,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Unitil during the fourth quarter valued at $1,326,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 186,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,084,000 after purchasing an additional 19,631 shares during the period. 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 objective on shares of Unitil in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:UTL opened at $54.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.08 and a 200-day moving average of $56.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $878.04 million, a PE ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.67. Unitil Co. has a 52 week low of $48.94 and a 52 week high of $63.52.

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

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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