Public Sector Pension Investment Board Has $3.30 Million Position in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,619 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Unitil were worth $3,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UTL. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 37.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Unitil by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Unitil by 64.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 34,017 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 67,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 10,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 33,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of UTL stock opened at $51.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.67. Unitil Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.61 and a twelve month high of $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $930.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25 and a beta of 0.49.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 9.37%.The company had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.45 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. This is a boost from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation (NYSE: UTL) is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil’s operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.