Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires 15,716 Shares of Unitil Corporation $UTL

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,716 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.26% of Unitil worth $2,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,471,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,411,000 after acquiring an additional 68,820 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Unitil by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,414,000 after purchasing an additional 108,254 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,103,000 after purchasing an additional 14,894 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 413,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,797,000 after buying an additional 39,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 385,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,824 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:UTL opened at $53.05 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.84. Unitil Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.61 and a 12 month high of $59.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $953.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a boost from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on UTL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.