Raymond James & Associates Has $1.53 Million Stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,933 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.18% of Unitil worth $1,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Unitil by 133.8% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unitil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $131,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL stock opened at $49.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.49. Unitil Co. has a 12 month low of $41.43 and a 12 month high of $59.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $793.85 million, a PE ratio of 17.42 and a beta of 0.58.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Unitil had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The company had revenue of $129.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is 60.28%.

About Unitil

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