Foundry Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)

Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 23.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,220 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC owned about 0.71% of Unitil worth $6,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,398,000 after purchasing an additional 49,130 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Unitil by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 186,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,000 after buying an additional 19,631 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 117,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,355,000 after purchasing an additional 6,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Unitil by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,006,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Price Performance

UTL stock opened at $51.37 on Friday. Unitil Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.81 and a 12-month high of $63.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $835.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.63.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.03 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.