Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Shares Purchased by Riverwater Partners LLC

Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 276.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,200 shares during the quarter. Unitil comprises about 0.9% of Riverwater Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Riverwater Partners LLC owned about 0.20% of Unitil worth $1,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Unitil Stock Performance

UTL stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.46. 47,472 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,454. 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 company has a market cap of $945.30 million, a PE ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $59.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.50. Unitil Co. has a 1 year low of $45.13 and a 1 year high of $63.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $95.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.29%.

About Unitil

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.