HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,015 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,270 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Unitil worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Unitil by 139.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,989,000 after buying an additional 19,134 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 204.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 32,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 21,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 3.1% in 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 period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,400,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Unitil in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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Unitil Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE UTL traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.98. 74,566 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,697. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $47.40 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.87. The firm has a market cap of $941.98 million, a PE ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is an increase from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

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.