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

Algert Global LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 55.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,903 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Unitil by 139.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 19,134 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 3,795 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 5,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Unitil stock opened at $54.03 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.45. Unitil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $48.94 and a fifty-two week high of $63.52. The firm has a market cap of $878.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44 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.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.03 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.