Quantinno Capital Management LP Grows Stake in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 91.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,760 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Unitil were worth $2,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 17,616.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 20,964 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Unitil in the 1st quarter worth about $7,836,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Unitil by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 490,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,600,000 after acquiring an additional 93,101 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Unitil by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,532,000 after acquiring an additional 67,456 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Unitil by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Down 1.5%

UTL opened at $52.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $965.26 million, a P/E ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.31. Unitil Corporation has a one year low of $44.61 and a one year high of $57.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $113.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 9.49%. Equities research analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UTL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Freedom Capital cut shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Unitil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

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.