Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Position Raised by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL – Get Rating) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Unitil were worth $2,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UTL. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Unitil by 31.7% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in Unitil by 1.2% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 112,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 74.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Unitil stock opened at $51.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Unitil Co. has a 12-month low of $44.02 and a 12-month high of $61.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $832.16 million, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.03 and its 200-day moving average is $52.46.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.02. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $110.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.00 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 28th. Investors of record on Monday, November 14th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 10th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Unitil Company Profile

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Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Non-Regulated. 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 the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.