Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 8,357 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,259 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,357 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.19% of Unitil worth $1,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter valued at $346,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 21.1% during the second quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,009 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,394 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Unitil by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 24,884 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 2,161 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Unitil by 145.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Finally, BOKF NA bought a new stake in Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth $235,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:UTL traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $59.85. 34,952 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,075. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $967.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Unitil Co. has a 12-month low of $44.71 and a 12-month high of $63.52.

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

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.29%.

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.