Short Interest in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Increases By 29.2%

Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 195,600 shares, an increase of 29.2% from the September 30th total of 151,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 59,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UTL traded down $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,118. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $935.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.47 and a 200-day moving average of $55.70. Unitil has a 12 month low of $45.13 and a 12 month high of $63.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $95.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 9.74%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Unitil will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.29%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 402.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $181,000. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the first quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.