Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Stock Position Decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 593,192 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,999 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 3.66% of Unitil worth $32,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UTL. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Unitil by 8,333.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil during the third quarter valued at approximately $271,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in Unitil by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $385,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unitil Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE UTL traded up $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.76. 45,810 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,358. The firm has a market capitalization of $922.17 million, a PE ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 0.58. Unitil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.40 and a fifty-two week high of $63.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $56.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.58.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Unitil's dividend 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.