Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Shares Purchased by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL – Get Rating) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 655 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unitil were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UTL. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Unitil by 1,562.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 75.9% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Unitil by 275.1% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.53% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL stock opened at $55.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $887.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. Unitil Co. has a one year low of $44.67 and a one year high of $61.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.99.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 15th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Unitil in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Unitil from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th.

Unitil Profile

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UNITIL Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in the local distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Electric, Gas, and Others. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Hampton, NH.