First Manhattan CO. LLC. Reduces Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. trimmed its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,495 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,885 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.26% of Unitil worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Unitil by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Unitil by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 798.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 Performance

Shares of NYSE:UTL traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.03. The company had a trading volume of 63,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,418. The company's 50 day moving average price is $57.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.45. 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 market cap of $878.04 million, a P/E 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.03 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

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.