Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 18,031 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,031 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.43% of Unitil worth $3,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Unitil by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,835,000 after purchasing an additional 41,511 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Unitil by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 511,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,006,000 after purchasing an additional 19,341 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unitil by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 381,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Unitil by 1.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Unitil by 1.2% during the 3rd 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. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unitil Price Performance

UTL traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.74. The company had a trading volume of 84,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,099. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $921.86 million, a PE ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 0.60. Unitil Co. has a twelve month low of $47.40 and a twelve month high of $63.52. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $54.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.03.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. This is a boost from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

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.