Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $2.06 Million Stock Position in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,534 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $2,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 45.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 46.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $100,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:UTL opened at $48.29 on Wednesday. Unitil Corporation has a one year low of $44.61 and a one year high of $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $865.27 million, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.17.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.40 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 9.04%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UTL. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

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.