Heartland Advisors Inc. Makes New $7.84 Million Investment in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 150,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,836,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UTL. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 10,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Unitil by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Unitil by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Unitil by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Unitil by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 69,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,380,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UTL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Unitil in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Unitil in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Unitil Trading Up 0.1%

Unitil stock opened at $54.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $979.50 million, a PE ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.64. Unitil Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $55.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.13 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. Equities research analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 60.13%.

Unitil Company 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.