Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 188 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Unitil were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Unitil by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Unitil by 2.7% in the fourth 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. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Unitil by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Unitil in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Stock Down 0.7 %

Unitil stock opened at $58.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. Unitil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.40 and a fifty-two week high of $63.52. The company has a market capitalization of $944.54 million, a PE ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. 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.