Readystate Asset Management LP Purchases Shares of 15,000 Unitil Corporation $UTL

Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UTL. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 100.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unitil in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Unitil by 45.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Unitil in the 2nd quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 207.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Down 2.4%

UTL opened at $51.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $928.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.49. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.65. Unitil Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.61 and a twelve month high of $59.99.

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

Unitil Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.