Swiss National Bank Decreases Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Unitil worth $1,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UTL. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 27,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 0.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 51,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 3.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 19,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Performance

NYSE UTL opened at $51.49 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.76. Unitil Co. has a twelve month low of $41.43 and a twelve month high of $55.26. The company has a market capitalization of $832.49 million, a PE ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.11. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.84% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $178.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.00 million. On average, research analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.67%.

Unitil Profile

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.