Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Shares Sold by First Manhattan CO. LLC.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. decreased its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing 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 quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned 0.26% of Unitil worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 798.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Unitil Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Unitil stock traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $54.27. 19,518 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 62,416. The stock has a market cap of $881.86 million, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $56.99 and its 200 day moving average is $56.39. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.03 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 9.36%. Equities analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.