Amundi Grows Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Amundi grew its holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 183.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in Unitil were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Unitil by 6.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,835,000 after buying an additional 41,511 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Unitil by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 511,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,006,000 after acquiring an additional 19,341 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 381,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Unitil by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 203,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in Unitil by 1.2% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 113,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

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Unitil Stock Up 0.6 %

UTL traded up $0.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $55.54. The stock had a trading volume of 45,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,736. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. Unitil Co. has a twelve month low of $47.40 and a twelve month high of $63.52. The company has a market capitalization of $902.22 million, a PE ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Unitil's payout ratio is 61.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Company 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.