Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Sells 26,286 Shares of Unitil Corporation $UTL

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC decreased its stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,286 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC owned approximately 1.53% of Unitil worth $13,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UTL. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 1,119.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 309,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,833,000 after acquiring an additional 284,522 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil in the third quarter worth $8,338,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 17.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,414,000 after acquiring an additional 108,254 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 98.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 146,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,120,000 after acquiring an additional 72,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,471,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,411,000 after acquiring an additional 68,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

NYSE:UTL opened at $51.14 on Thursday. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $55.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.70 and a 200-day moving average of $51.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $920.06 million, a P/E ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.32.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.13 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Unitil’s payout ratio is 60.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on UTL shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Unitil in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Freedom Capital lowered Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Unitil Profile

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.