Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $609,000 Investment in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Unitil in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Unitil in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Unitil during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 196.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:UTL opened at $53.45 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.61 and a 1-year high of $57.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.67 and a 200 day moving average of $52.56. The firm has a market cap of $974.77 million, a PE ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.31.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Unitil had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $113.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Unitil’s payout ratio is 59.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UTL shares. Wells Fargo & Company assumed 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Unitil from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

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.